Irish Gaelic Names for Girls
Updated Tue Jun 09 2020
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The terms Irish and Gaelic are used interchangeably though not always accurately. Irish is a language all its own, while Gaelic is the Scottish language. But there are similarities and many of the Irish Gaelic Names for Girls here are also on the list of Irish names for girls.
Here, our full roster of Irish Gaelic girl names. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
Here, our full roster of Irish Gaelic girl names. The top names below rank among the current US Top 1000 Baby Names and are ordered by popularity. Unique names rank below the Top 1000 and are listed alphabetically.
- Aoife
Origin:
Irish GaelicMeaning:
"beautiful, radiant"Description:
Aoife, pronounced EE-fa, is derived from the Irish word aoibh, meaning "beauty." Aoife was borne by several different heroines of ancient Irish legend. In one tale, she was the fiercest woman warrior in the world and enemy of her twin sister, Scathach.
- Niamh
Origin:
Irish GaelicMeaning:
"bright"Description:
Niamh, derived from the Old Irish Niam, is an ancient Irish name that was originally a term for a goddess. In Irish myth, one who bore it was Niamh of the Golden Hair, daughter of the sea god, who falls in love with Finn's son Oisin and takes him to the Land of Promise, where they stayed for three hundred years. Niamh can be Anglicized as Neve, Nieve, or Neave.
- Caoimhe
Origin:
Irish, ScottishMeaning:
"beautiful"Description:
Caoimhe, pronounced (more properly) kwee-va or kee-va, is a pretty and distinctive Gaelic name but one that could well lead to no end of confusion outside the Irish community. Even in its native habitat, it is sometimes spelled Keeva.
- Roisin
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"little rose"Description:
No, the pronunciation--ro-SHEEN--isn't immediately obvious to the non-Gaelic viewer, but the sound of this shiny Irish version of Rose is pretty enough to make it worth considering. Very popular in its native Ireland, it's one of many Irish girl names finding a wider audience. Earlier generations Anglicized at as Rosaleen, but we stay stick to the original.
- Ferelith
Origin:
ScottishMeaning:
"true sovereignty"Description:
Ferelith is an unusual yet deeply-rooted Scottish girl's name, also found in ancient Ireland and drawn from the Gaelic Forbhlaith or Forbflaith. While it went through a period of dormancy after the Middle Ages, there are some modern women named Ferelith, including actress Ferelith Young and Princess of Denmark Anne Ferelith Fenella Bowes-Lyon.
- Laoise
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"light"Description:
Pronounced lee-sha, Laoise is the feminine form of the Irish mythological names Lugh and Lugus, which means light. Lugus was the Celtic god of commerce and craftsmanship, the equivalent of the Roman Mercury, thought to inspire the later Irish hero Lugh. Laoise is among the Top 100 Irish names for girls, but Americans will definitely have pronunciation issues.
- Ailbhe
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"noble, bright"Description:
While Irish Gaelic spellings add intrigue to a name, they'll prove endlessly confusing. Ailbhe is pronounced like the less intriguing but infinitely simpler Alva.
- Orlaith
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"golden princess"Description:
In early, pre-Norman Ireland, this name was borne by both a sister and a niece of high king Brian Boru. Now, the English form Orla is more commonly used.
- Bevin
Origin:
Irish GaelicMeaning:
"fair lady, white lady"Description:
The traditional Irish girl's name Bevin – an Anglicization of Bébhinn – is rarely heard outside the Emerald Isle, but could make an fresh and fashionable namesake for an Aunt Beverly.
- Sinead
Origin:
Irish form of JanetMeaning:
"God's gracious gift"Description:
One of the best known of the Irish girls' names, thanks to singer Sinead O'Connor. Though it's still in the Irish Top 100, it's no longer quite as fashionable in Ireland as Aoife or Aisling. But by now everyone in the Western World knows it's pronounced shin-aid and so would have no trouble fitting in on an American playground.
- Emer
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"swift"Description:
Popular name in Ireland -- it's pronounced ee-mer -- from the legendary wife of Cuchulainn who was supposed to possess the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, voice, speech, wisdom, chastity, and of course, needlework. Is found in the poetry of Yeats.
- Eimear
Origin:
Irish GaelicMeaning:
"swift"Description:
Sometimes spelled Emer and pronounced "EE-mer," the legendary wife of Cuchulainn possessed the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, voice, speech, wisdom, chastity, and needlework. A fresh alternative to Emma, but the two have the potential to be frequently confused.
- Fionnuala
Origin:
Irish GaelicMeaning:
"white shoulders"Description:
This lovely Gaelic name, very popular in the Emerald Isle, has inspired a whole host of diminutives (including Nuala and Nola) and variant spellings, from Finola to Finula to the Scottish and English Fenella. In Irish legend Fionnuala was one of the four children of Lir who were transformed into swans for 900 years.
- Aoibh
Origin:
Celtic, Short Form Of aoibheannMeaning:
"beautiful, radiant"Description:
One of many Irish names that, despite pronunciation challenge, are beginning to be taken into consideration here as authentic Celtic versions of familiar English names.
- Áine
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"brilliance, wit"Description:
Name of a fertility goddess said to confer luck on its bearer, though to avoid confusion you may want to use the phonetic spelling Anya or Enya.
- Róisín
Origin:
Irish Gaelic, diminutive of RÓIsMeaning:
"rose"Description:
An authentic choice for your little Irish Rose, chosen by singer Sinead O'Connor for her daughter.
- Siobhán
Origin:
Irish GaelicMeaning:
"God is gracious"Description:
Lovely Irish name which has inspired many Anglicized variations, but using the original form preserves the integrity of one of the most beautiful Gaelic girls' names.
- Sina
- Luiseach
Origin:
Irish, from the deity name LughDescription:
Authentically spelled Luíseach (with Luighsech as a variant), this obscure saint's name is thought to derive from the mythological figure Lugh, perhaps a reflex of an older god. Luíseach is sometimes considered the Irish version of Lucy. In fact, they are historically separate names, but if Lugh derives from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "shining" then they are very distant cousins.
- Nainsí