Irish Names for Boys

A spelling variant of presidential surname Regan that briefly entered the Top 1000 for boys in the 1960s, but hasn't rejoined the list since. Shakespeare also used the name for a daughter of King Lear, inspired by an ancient king of the Britons in accounts of the medieval scribe Geoffrey of Monmouth.

An Irish county name almost exclusively used for girls now. Kerrigan would be a more modern and masculine choice.

A distinctive alternative to Conan.

An X-ending surname less common than the Jolie-Pitt-inspired Maddox. Grandparents might still associate it with the old TV crime show. 

When British rocker Steven Patrick Morrissey decided to use his last name alone, it became a viable option for baby namers, a lot cooler than Morris or Maurice.

Great Irish middle name choice for Shakespeare lovers.

A jovial and jaunty Irish name, the title of a long-gone TV crime drama, this would make an appealing choice. Slight downside: Maddy is already a mega-popular nickname for Madeline/Madelyn and Madison, so this Mad- name might not feel as distinctive as the stats would suggest.

While Keegan has been rising in popularity for a number of years, this variant spelling has dropped in the lists.

Tierney is a Celtic surname with a definite Irish twinkle, a name just waiting to be discovered. Though now sometimes used for girls (in the US, not Ireland), as in jazz singer Tierney Sutton, it still has plenty of masculine punch.

A little further down the road paved by Aidan and Logan.

Much stronger than Dale for a boy.

This name was consistently in the boys' Top 200 until WW2. It's a name with so many dimensions to it: the hyper-masculine meaning, the surname-as-firstname trendiness, and the softer sound and connotation since homophone Carol was favoured in the 1940s and '50s for daughters. We think it's time for a resurgence of Carrolls amongst the boys.

Gives Carlo a place-name/surname spin.

With Galway and Ireland in play as names (not to mention Shannon and Kerry), there's no reason this one can't work, too.

Conjures up pleasant images of lakes, but the pronunciation challenge makes the Anglicized Loughlin preferable.

Although Maguire is such a prominent Irish surname —it ranks in the Top 40 in the Emerald Isle —this lively and cheerful family name has rarely been used as a first, unlike more familiar examples like Ryan, Riley and Reagan. The powerful and distinguished Maguire clan was known for their courage, leadership and resilience. The name's many notable associations include the unionizing Pennsylvania coal miners known as the Molly Maguires, actor Tobey Maguire and Dixie Chick Martie Maguire. Other spellings are McGuire and McGwire; two other handsome Irish surnames to consider are Malone and Magee.

Can't help thinking of a donkey.

The spoiled only son of the richest family in town in a fifties movie.

One of the more feminine Irish surnames.

This genial Irish surname feels much more current than Donald.