Irish Names for Boys

A name scattered throughout Irish mythology with an intriguing sound, Carbry is one of the rare Irish names for boys virtually unknown in the US. Bry is the obvious, but lovely nickname option.

Has a harmonic feel.

Despite pronunciation, looks a bit like an airline or -- worse still -- a hair dryer 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.

Connolly, an alternate spelling of Connelly, could make a livelier and less common substitute for Connor.

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.

Roone is a lively, attractive and unusual redhead entry brought into the mix by the late TV sports and news executive Roone Arledge, who seemed to own it as a one-person name when he was alive.

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

After being one of the hot upscale surnames of the nineties, Garrett has left the Top 100 and this streamlined spelling is dawdling near the bottom of the Top 1000.

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 of eighteen Irish saints of the past is relatively popular in Ireland, though little known outside it.

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.

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.

It may be a longshot – especially since it was given to less than 5 boys in the US in 2021 – but Piran could conceivably be a future Kieran, which is shaping up to being the next Kevin. Piran is the patron saint of miners and of Cornwall.

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

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.

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.

Relaxed, with an appealing touch of swagger.