Modern Irish Names

These names have been used in Ireland, or in the USA for the past century or so. They are not traditional in the sense that their historical roots don't stretch back very far. However, some of them are quite common now, or have been in the past.

If you haven't done so already, non-Irish speakers please see the the pronunciation guide.

name	pronunciation	notes
Aislinn, Aisling	ASH leeng, ESH leeng	Gaelic word for 'dream, vision'. It is also a type of poem where Ireland is portrayed as a beautiful girl in peril. This name is very popular now in Ireland. It's first use as a name came in Gaelic Revival (late 1800s). The phonetic/English renderings Ashlyn and Aizlynn are occasionally found in the USA.
Alannah, Alana	a LON a	from the Irish term of affection a leanbh ('my child'), this name is also used as a feminine form of Alan.
Ashlyn, Ashlynn	ASH lin	Probably a blend of the popular name Ashley and popular suffix -lyn. Some regard this as an anglicization of Aislinn/Aisling (see also), but it is probably an independent coinage.
Brandon	BRAN dun	An Anglicization used for Breandán sometimes, this name actually comes from the English meaning "beacon-fire hill."
Brenna	BREN a	American feminine of the name surname Brennan, used as a first name.
Brianna	bree ON a, Bree AN a	modern invention as a feminine of Brian. Used mainly in the USA. The name Briana, pronounced BREE uh na, was coined by Edmund Spenser for his 16th century book the Faerie Queen.
Caitlin, Katelyn	KATE lynn	An English phonetic pronunciation of the Irish name Caitlín, this name is extremely popular in the USA and Australia.
Cashel, Cashlin	CASH ul, CASH lin, CASH leen	Spelled Caiseal and Caislín in Irish, these are place names in Ireland meaning "Castle" and "little castle."
Cara	CAR a, CARE a	The Irish word for 'friend,' this name has been gaining in popularity. It's also the Italian word for 'dear.'
Ciara	KEE a ra	modern feminine of the name Ciarán. Elaboration of the name Ciar. In the USA, it is also sometimes an alternate spelling of Sierra, or pronounced see-ARE-a, a name of a popular fragrance of perfume. The name of the fragrance was coined after Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest.
Clodagh	KLO da	the name of a river in Tipperary, 1st used as a name by the Marquis of Waterford for his daughter. Popular in Ireland ever since.
Colleen	coll EEN	From the Irish word cailín meaning 'girl,' this word was coined as a name for an American film star in the 1920's. It is not used in Ireland today, but was very popular in the USA in past decades. It is also the slang term for an Irish woman in Britain, and used as a slang term sometimes for a country woman in Ireland.
Dana	DAN a (not Day-na-that's a whole different name)	a modern form of the name of the Celtic goddess Anu. This name has been popularized recently by the Northern Irish singer Dana (b. Rosemary Scanlon)
Duana	DOO uh na	This is a form of the Irish word duan, meaning "poem" or "song."
Einín	EH neen	This is a recent coinage based on the word ean, meaning "bird". Ean+ ín makes this name mean "little bird."
Eireen	eye REEN	This name is probably just a more "Irish" spelling of the Greek name Irene, meaning "peace." However, it could also be thought to be a compound of Éire ("Ireland") and the suffix ín ("een", a diminutive implying "little").
Erin	EH rin	poetic name for Ireland. Used mostly in the USA, Canada and Australia, however, it is gaining popularity in Ireland and other English-speaking countries.
Fainne	FAN ya	Irish word for 'ring,' used after Gaelic Revival. A circular brooch was traditionally worn during this period to show the wearer was an active Irish speaker. This gave the name an extra dimension.
Fiona	fee OH na	This is probably the name I get e-mails about the most! Many consider this name "quintessentially Irish." However, it was actually the invention of the 18th-century Scottish author, James MacPherson. He coined this name as a feminine form of the legendary name Fionn. To do this, he stuck the common Latinate ending -a onto the name Fionn, and dropped one "n". In Gaelic, unlike Latin (and other European languages), names do not become feminine simply by adding "a." In fact, there were already in existence a few feminine forms of Fionn: Fionnseach, Fionnait and Fionnacht. Coincidentally, the word fiona, pronounced FEE uh na, is the modern Scottish Gaelic word for "wine" (coming from the Latin vineus, meaning "vine") Fiona became popular in Scotland and England in the late 19th century as a result of the author William Sharpe using the pen name Fiona MacLeod.
Fírinne	FEER in yeh	From the Irish word for 'truth,' this name was also coined during the Gaelic Revival.
Gloria	GLO ree a	Gloria is the Latin vocabulary word for 'glory.' It was first used as a name in 1898 by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw for his play You Never Can Tell.
Imogen, Imogene	IM o gen	This name was coined by William Shakespeare, for his play Cymbaline. It is a misspelling, or misrepresentation of a Celtic name, recorded as Innogen. Perhaps it comes from the Irish Gaelic word inighean meaning "daughter."
Kaylee	KAY lee	This is not derived from the Irish word céilí, as some people think, although this assumption has probably contributed to the name's popularity. It is more likely a modern combination of the names Kay and Lee, based on popular names like Hayley and Kayla. You can also find the spellings Kayleigh, Cailey, Caeli, Keighli...we've counted about 57 different possible spellings for this name.
Kerry	KEH ree, KAIR ee	This comes from Ciarraí, the name of an Irish county. The original name comes from ciar, the Irish word for "black."
Kyla	KY la	Sometimes though to be an anglicization of the man's name Cadhla, this name is more likely to have been coined as a feminine form of Kyle, based on the popularity of other K sounding names such as Kayla and Kylie.
Kyle	KYL or KY ull	Kyle could come either from the Gaelic coill meaning "woods", or a Scottish place name meaning "narrow." This name is more common in Scotland, where is is also a place name and a surname, than in Ireland.
Loinnir	LUN ir	the Irish vocabulary word for 'brightness, radiance,' Róisín McAliskey used this name for her daughter.
McKenna	muh KEN uh	this name is common in the USA. It's popularity stems from the fact that it sounds a bit like the popular Hebrew derived name Michaela, often misspelled McKayla, and the popular Scottish surname name Mackenzie. McKenna is a surname meaning 'son of Cionnaith' [see also]. This also helps it catch the trend of giving children surnames as first names. Also spelled Makenna, Mckenna, Mackenna etc.
Meaghan, Megan	MEG in, MAY gun, MEE gun	The name Megan is originally a Welsh pet form of Margaret. It has been mistaken as an Irish name ever since the Australian author Colleen McCullough used Meghan for her Irish main character in the novel The Thorn Birds. Megan is sometimes 'Irishized' with the spellings Meaghan, Meeghan etc. For those who insist that Megan is Irish, and there are many militant pro-Irish-Megan Irish-Americans out there, There is an obscure Irish surname, Meegan. However, this name has usually been found as Meehan in this century. Megan and friends have been very popular in the USA since the 1970s, and are ganing in popularity in the UK, Australia & Ireland.
Nelda, Neila	NEL da, NEE la	Modern feminine forms of the name Neil
Nóinín	NO neen	Irish word for 'daisy.' It was sometimes used as a pet form of Nora. Because of this, Nora is sometimes anglicized "Daisy."
Nollaig	NULL ig	Irish word for "Christmas." This name has been very popular in this century for Irish girls and boys. It is often translated as Noel.
Orinthia	or IN thee a	a name invented by George Bernard Shaw for his 1929 play the Apple Cart .
Réaltán, Réaltín	RAYL tawn, RAYL teen	Modern coinage based on réal, the Irish word for 'star.' This name would mean 'little star.' Equivalent of the Latin Stella.
Saoirse	SEER sha, sometimes SAYR sha	Irish word for 'freedom.' This has become popular in Ireland in recent years.
Shaina, Shauna, Shawna	SHANE a, SHAUN a	Modern feminine forms of Seán. Shauna is the most popular spelling in Ireland.
Shane	SHANE	Anglicization of the name Seán.
Shannon	SHAN nin	A river in SW Ireland and a surname, as well as Ireland's international airport, this name has been popular for both boys and girls in the USA, Britain and Canada for some time. It's been getting very popular in Ireland in recent years for both girls and boys.
Síofra	SHEE fra	This is a vocabulary word meaning "sprite", "changeling" and is also the term for a precocious child. It has been used in recent years for girls in Ireland.
Sterrin	STAIR in, STEH rin	this name was created by the novelist Beatrice Coogan in her novel The Big Wind. It is a shortened form of the phrase "Blawna Stherrim," (In Irish, Bláthna Shteirm ) which means 'flower of the storm.' Thanks to J.F. Klein of the Netherlands for bringing this name to my attention.
Taryn	TAR in	A name invented by actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian for their daughter. This name is also thought of as an American elaboration of the name Tara.
Vanessa	va NESS a	a name invented by Irish satirist Jonathan Swift in honor of Esther Vanhomrigh, a woman with whom his connection is not entirely clear.