If you’re looking for Irish baby names, you’re not alone. Many people like to give their children names that reflects their Irish heritage.
Of course, you can find Irish baby names — and Irish spellings — that are unusual.
For example, my name is Eileen in English, but it’s Eibhlin in the Irish language… and on my passport.
However, while some children enjoy an unusual name, others are happy to have an Irish name that doesn’t stand out too much.
Top 10 baby names
The following all-time popular Irish baby names were chosen from lists provided by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office.
Most (but not all) are easy to spell and pronounce.
Irish boy’s first names
- Jack
- Conor
- Sean
- Adam
- James
- Michael
- David
- Aaron
- Daniel
- Dylan
Irish girls’ first names
- Aoife
- Chloe
- Sarah
- Ciara
- Emma
- Niamh
- Rachel
- Rebecca
- Lauren
- Megan
Those have been the “top ten” Irish baby names in each category for several years, though their rank may change slightly from one year to the next. Spellings may vary, as well. For example, “Conor” may be spelled “Connor”, and vice versa.
You’ll find these kinds of lists at many websites. Each list may be a little different, depending on the year you look at.
Recommended:
[ASA]0862786762[/ASA]
Top 25 Irish baby names – 2008
For example, the following are the top 25 girls’ names for babies born in Ireland in 2008.
- Ava
- Katie
- Sarah
- Emma
- Emily
- Sophie
- Grace
- Aoife
- Chloe
- Kate
- Lucy
- Ella
- Leah
- Ciara
- Hannah
- Amy
- Caoimhe
- Niamh
- Anna
- Lauren
- Ruby
- Jessica
- Mia
- Saoirse
- Molly
These are the top 25 popular baby boys’ names in Ireland, in 2008:
- Jack
- Sean
- Conor
- Daniel
- James
- Ryan
- Adam
- Dylan
- Luke
- Alex
- Cian
- Aaron
- Michael
- Jamie
- Oisin
- Darragh
- Liam
- Thomas
- Patrick
- David
- Matthew
- John
- Cillian
- Ben
- Evan
As you can see, many names in Ireland aren’t distinctively “Irish.”
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Irish-American baby names
If you’re looking for something more clearly Irish, here are the top ten Irish-American baby names, compiled from the Baby Zone‘s 100 top baby names for 2004:
Boys’ names
- Aidan/Aiden
- Ryan
- Michael
- Dylan
- Connor
- Austin
- Riley
- Jack
- Brandon
- James
Girls’ names
- Emma
- Caitlin
- Sarah
- Kayla (Cadhla)
- Riley
- Brianna
- Chloe
- Lauren
- Morgan/Megan
- Kylie
Pronunications
If you’re not sure how to pronounce a name, remember that a consonant plus an H is often silent, or it might be pronounced like the letter F.
In English, you see this same rule in words like “through” (gh is silent), “rough” (gh has an F sound), and “telephone” (ph has an F sound).
For example, Niamh is usually said like “neef,” and Siobhan is often pronounced like “shih-VONN.”
Many families like to celebrate their Irish roots. Irish baby names are a constant reminder of your family’s Irish heritage.