400+ Irish Last Names (With Meanings and Popularity)

An unconventional route to the cool nickname Mac/Mack, Mckenna or McKenna derives from the Gaelic name Cináed (Anglicized as Kenneth), meaning "born of fire".

Mama's boy.

An old Irish surname that was big in the 1960s, but would be an unexpected choice for a child now.

More obscure Irish surname-name, also spelled Molloy, that's prime for use.

Quinlan is an Irish surname name given to a few dozen baby girls in the US each year. With the success of Quinn as a girls' name, Quinlan and its variant spellings Quinlin and Quinlyn might follow behind.

Poised for popularity, Brennan is an Irish last name soft enough to borrow from the boys.

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, with the nice three-syllable lilt of of such other Irish surnames as Finnegan and Flanagan. It can also be spelled Morrisey.

There are many more appealing Irish surnames than Foley, and certainly more positive meanings. If Foley is a genuine family name, this would be all right in the middle.

Perfect name for the child of dog enthusiasts, and much more distinctive than the trendy Connor.

This name shares sounds with Keagan and Teagan, but has its own roots in Irish culture. Freestyle Motocross rider Brian Deegan may be partly responsible for this name's entrance into the US Top 1000.

Admirers of the haunting works of esteemed Irish poet and playwright William Butler Yeats might consider this, especially as a middle name.

Irish surname derived from the name Gairbhín, a diminutive of garbh, "rough". It's barely been used as a first name, but could be a similar-yet-different alternative to names like Nolan and Sullivan.

From the Irish surname Ó Buadhachanáin, which has at its core buadhach, "victorious". It has appeared in the US charts since 2014, probably in honor of the disco music pioneer Hamilton Bohannon, who was often known simply by his surname. This name therefore ticks several style boxes: an Irish surname, a music legend, and a cool "Bo" sound, with Bo as a possible nickname.

Pleasant Irish last name that could be a more masculine alternative to the overused Cassidy. Early kings of Leinster bore the name, which relates to the first name Caomhan or Kevin and can also be spelled Kavanagh, Cavanagh, Cavenagh, and Kavanaugh.

Feeny and its alternative spelling Feeney have several origins in Irish. They are anglicised forms of the surnames Ó Fiannaidhe (descendant of Fiannaidhe, meaning warrior), and Ó Fidhne (descendant of Fidhne, from the word for tree or wood). Feeny is also a place name in Northern Ireland, meaning "the woods. Although many Irish surnames are in style, like Keegan and Sullivan, this is one you've probably never met on a person before.

A likable nickname-name in the Callie, Hallie mode.

Relaxed, with an appealing touch of swagger.

Magee became one of the first gender-bending Irish surname names so popular today thanks to New York television newswoman Magee Hickey. In case you don't know, the g is hard, as in Maggie, but with the opposite emphasis.