Irish Names for Boys

Donnelly is among the more appealing Irish surname names, less well used than Donovan. Related options include the place name Donegal and the mythological god name Donegan.

Gives Carlo a place-name/surname spin.

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

Euston is best known as a London railway station, which got its name from a stately home and village in the English county of Suffolk. Ultimately it is thought to mean "settlement of a person called Efe". Unlike its Top 1000 soundalike Houston (as in Texas), Euston has never been recording on the charts.

Cagney is one of the spunkiest Irish surnames around, and could make a lively and fresher successor to the tired Casey.

Much stronger than Dale for a boy.

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

While the lin ending is more commonly found in girls' names, Carlin is an authentic Irish male choice and was used just about evenly for both sexes in the US last year.

An earthy rock'n'roll name with multiple origins. The Roc was a giant bird in Middle Eastern legend.

Used primarily for girls in Ireland, but sounds unisex to us.

Breccan may be the original saints' name, but in the modern U.S., the spelling Brecken is the most popular form, followed by Breckin. A winner by any spelling.

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

An attractive ancient Irish saint's name that conjures up a beacon of light, this Irish name for boys is well-used in Ireland but rarely heard in the US.

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.

This more user-friendly Anglicized form of Beacan, could profit from its kinship with the popular Beckett--with which it could share the nickname Beck. Becan is an Irish saint's name, attached to the founder of a sixth century monastery.

Fresh choice that could pick up where Dylan and Logan left off.

For better or worse, this name is still firmly attached to the TV series Gilmore Girls. It's one of a number of Scottish and Irish surname names beginning with Gil, meaning "servant". In this case, it's "servant of Mary", making it a subtle male Marian name.

First used for Norse invaders, this name, along with the similar Lachlan, is an attractive, worldly, and unusual choice — despite connections to the Nevada gambling resort.

Oengus is the old Irish form of the name most commonly found in the modern world as Angus, typically Scottish.
In Irish mythology, Oengus is the god of youth, love, and poetry.