Is Your Name Not on the Translation List?

Alexandra, Alexis, Alexia, Lexi, etc.

These are all feminine forms of Alexander. In Irish, Alexander is Alastar or Alsander. In Scottish Gaelic, the feminine form is Alastriona (there is no equivalent in Irish). This would work in Irish Gaelic as well. Alastríona is pronounced /al iss TREE uh na/

Alfie
Alfie started out life as a pet form of the name Alfred. However, it could also be considered a short form of Alphonsus, which was rendered Anlón in Irish. Another way to "translate" Alfie would be to find a name that sounds similar in Irish (this has been done for centuries the other way around, with Sorchas becoming Sarahs and Donnachadhs becoming Dennises and Daniels on documents). Ailbhe /AH'eel v'yeh/ is the best contender for that. Another thing you could do is take the Norman surname Avery, which is an old French form of Alfred. In Ireland, this surname became: Aimhréidh /AH vuh ree/. You could also simply spell the name out phonetically in Irish, which would give you Ailfí /AHL uh fee/.

Alyssa, Alicia
Alyssa is a modern form of Alice, a form of the obscure Germanic name Adelheidis. In Irish Alice is Ailís, which is pronounced AH leesh.

Amanda
In Latin, Amanda means "worthy of being loved." It is also sometimes translated as "beloved." While Amanda has never been translated into Irish, There are a couple of Irish names with sort of the same meaning:

• Caoimheall (Keev yul) means "beautiful; beloved"
• Caomhóg (KEEV oag)- beautiful, beloved girl
• Caoimhseach (KEEV shoch)--beautiful, beloved girl

Amy, Aimee
This name comes from Latin, meaning "beloved." It was never directly translated into Irish, but there are a few names that mean "beloved." See Amanda for a list of these. You could also spell it out phonetically in Irish; something like Éimí.

Andrea

Andrea is a feminine form of Andrew-- Andrew in Irish is Anndras, Aindréas, Aindriú, or Aindreas. There isn't really a feminine form, but you could make one... Aindréa /ANN dray a/.

Ashley/Ashleigh/Ashli etc.
Ashleigh is an English surname. It can't be translated into Irish. It means "from the ash-tree meadow". there isn't an Irish name with the same meaning. You could try to spell it out phonetically in Irish, like Aisilí, or you could use a similar-sounding name, like Aisling or Aislinn /ASH leeng/. Both of the latter names mean "dream; vision" in Irish.

Bernadette
is most often found as simply Bernadette in Ireland. However, I have seen the name Bearnáirdín used as a feminine of Bernard. It is pronounced /BAR nar deen/.

Beverly
I think about the only thing you could do is spell it out phonetically, like Bebheairlí (would sound kind of like BEV yar lee). Other than that, being an English surname meaning "beaver stream" or something like that, I'm afraid, I can't come up with anything close in meaning!

Brenda
Brenda, contrary to what a lot of baby name books say, is actually from a Norse name meaning 'sword.' However, because of its similarity to the name Brendan, many people think that it's an Irish feminine form of Brendan. Unfortunately, in Irish, there is no feminine form of Brendan! In Irish Gaelic, Brendan is Breandán or Breannain. I suppose you could spell Brenda "Breanda," to look more like the Irish form of Brendan. I think I've seen this before; it's a modern interpretation.You could also stick a feminine suffix to the root "Brean" and make Breannait /BRAN nit/ or Breannóg /BRAN oag/.

Brittany, Britni, Britny etc.
Brittany is the English name for the region of France called Bretagne. In Breton, the native language (which is also a Celtic language), it is called Breizh. I don't know what the word for it is in Irish; it's not in my dictionary. You could use the name Proinnséas (PRUN shis) as an approximate translation. This is the Irish form of Frances, which means "a French person."

Cameron
Cameron is a Scottish surname meaning "crooked nose." In Scottish Gaelic, it's Camshròn, but if you made that same compound in Irish, it would be kind of silly-sounding, and not a name at all. If you spelled it out phonetically in Gaelic, it could look like this: Camaron /CAH mah run/ or Caimereon, which is kind of unwieldy, and would be pronounced like /KAH-ee MEH r'yun/. You could also simply find an Irish name that sounds similar. Some suggestions: Cairenn /CA'EER yen/ or Caointearn /KEEN ch'yarn/ for girls and Caimin /CAH meen/, Canagán /KON ah gahn/, Cianán /KEE uh nawn/ or Ciarán /KEE uh rawn/ for boys..

Candace
Candace is an Ethiopian name meaning, perhaps, "white, pure or glowing." You could use Fionnait ("White"), Niamh ("Radiant"), Aoibhgréine ("Radiance of the sun") as a translation of the meaning.  You could also spell it out phonetically in Irish-- it would be something like Candais /KON uh dish/.

Carrie, Cari, Carol
Carrie was originally a pet form of Caroline. Carol was originally a short form of Caroline. Caroline is a feminine form of Charles. You could use a feminine form of Charles to translate Carrie. This would be Searlait (SHAR lat).

Cheryl
Cheryl is a modern name, based on names like Sharon and Carol. It cannot be translated into Irish. However, you can translate Carol into Irish--it's a feminine form of Charles. See Carrie (right above this entry) for more info.

Chloe
Chloe is from Greek, meaning "blooming." In Irish, there are two names that mean "blossom; bloom": Scoth and Scoithnait. They are pronounced SKUH and SKUH nit. You could also try to spell it out phonetically in Gaelic, which would give you something like Clóghí.

Corey, Corrie, Cori etc.
Corrie/Corry is an anglicization of the Irish surnames Mac Gothraidh , Ó Comhraí, Ó Comhraidhe, and Ó Corra. Gothraigh ("Godfrey")/GUH ree/, Comhrai(dh) /KAH ree/ or /KOW ree/, and Corra ("spear") /KUR ra/ are all first names, though all male. You could probably use any of these, though you may want to feminize them. Gothrait /GUR it/ for Godfrey seems to work best.

Courtney, Kortni etc,
Courtney is used as an anglicization of the Norman surname de Courtenai. If you want a true Irish name, though, it is also used as an anglicization of the Irish surnames Cuirnán /KWER nawn/ (possibly means "drinking horn"--more commonly anglicized Curnane) and Mac Cuarta/Mac Cuirt /mac KUU art a/ , /mac KOORSHT/ (also anglicized McCourt).

Claire, Clare, Clair
Claire comes from the Latin clarus, which means "famous." however, it is often confused with the French word "clair," meaning "light." Because of this, it was sometimes used to anglicize the Irish name Sorcha, which means "light." The Irish county name, Clare is an unrelated word. This is an anglicization of the Irish an Clár, meaning "a plain; flat place."

Crystal

As a name, Crystal is simply the English word 'crystal,' or clear, colorless glass. In Irish, the word for glass is gloine. Since this is not actually a name in Ireland, you could use Cristíona, the form of Christina, since much of Crystal's popularity comes from the fact that it fits in with all of the Kristin/Christine/Christie names. In Scotland, Cristal was also used as a pet form for Christopher.

Cynthia, Cindy
Cynthia means "woman of Kynthos" in Greek. Cynthia was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, given because Kynthos was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother Apollo were born. Artemis's counterpart in Roman mythology was DIANA. Diana is a Roman name meaning, perhaps "goddess." This name has never been translated into Irish, but you could use the name Bríd (Brigid), perhaps. This name was originally a Celtic goddess, and means perhaps "high goddess." So, basically, in an extremely roundabout way, you could perhaps use "Bríd."

Danielle
Danielle is a French feminine form of the name Daniel, which in Hebrew means "God will judge" or something like that. In Irish, Daniel is Daniél. While there is no accepted feminine form of Daniel in Irish, you could make a feminine form by adding the suffix "ín" and make Daniélín (DON yell een).

Darlene
Darlene is a modern 20th century names that was coined based on the word "darling,' modelled on Charlene, Marlene etc. It doesn't have an exact translation. However, you could do a couple of different things:
1. spell it out phonetically in Irish-- that would be Dairlín (pronounced DAR uh leen). "Dair" means "oak tree," so that might be a nice connection. Just make sure you pronounce it DAHR and not DAWWR. (this distincion isn't always easy to make, depending on where you're from. If you pronounced the names DON and DAWN differently, make sure you don't pronounce the A in 'dair" like the AW in 'Dawn", because that means "to be in heat" particularly in cows! If you pronounce DON and DAWN the same, you're probably OK.
2. Choose an Irish name that sounds similar as an equivalent. this has been done in reverse for hundreds of years, where native Irish names became "translated" as names the English could pronounce more easily, even though the names are not etymologically connected. Some names that would work for Darlene would be: Dairine (DAWR in yeh), Daimhín (DAHV een), or perhaps Doireann (DAHR an).
3. Since Darlene was invented based on the word "darling," you could use an Irish word that means the same thing. There are a bunch of terms of endearment that mean about the equivalent of 'darling' - Leannán (LYAH nawn), a stór (ah STORE), a rún (ah ROON), mo chroí (muh KREE) etc.

Dawn
In Irish, Dawn is not used as a name. However, the vocabulary word for 'dawn; daybreak' is: camhaoir /CAH wir/.

Deborah, Debra, Debby
Deborah comes from a Hebrew word meaning "bee." There is no name in Irish with this meaning, but Deborah has traditionally used to anglicize the Irish name Gobnait. Gobnait means "smith," and is pronounced GUB nit.

Denise
This is a French feminine form of Den(n)is, which is derived from the Greek god name Dionysus. There is no direct translation of this name into Irish. However, if you want to stretch it a bit...Dionysus was the Greek god of wine. In Irish, the name Fíne (FEE neh) means "wine." You could also spell it out phonetically in Irish: Denís (DEN eesh).

Destiny
Destiny is a word that has only been in use as a name for about 100 years or so. As a word, it's not a name in Ireland. "Destiny" in Irish is Fáil. You could create a modern name by adding an ending to Fáil: Fáilín, Fáilnait...

Diane, Diana
Diana is a Roman name meaning, perhaps "goddess." Diane is a French form. This name has never been translated into Irish, but you could use the name Bríd /BREEJ/ (Brigid), perhaps. This name was originally a Celtic goddess, and means perhaps "high goddess."

Donna
Donna is an Italian word meaning "lady." In Scotland, it sometimes is used as a feminine form of Donald (in Gaelic: Domhnall). A feminine form of Donald in Scottish Gaelic is Doileag, pronounced DOLL-ik. In Irish, there is no feminine equivalent of Domhnall, which is usually anglicized Donal. You could use Dónailín, perhaps. The problem with adding the modern "in" to male names to make female versions, is that "in" is also used for men. For example, Seán is a boys' name, and Seainín means "Johnny." Donailin may mean "Donnie." You could try another feminine suffix, like -aid (Donalaid).

Dora, Dorothea, Dottie, Dolly, Doreen

The name Dairinn (DARR in) has traditionally been translated as Dorothy. The other names are all variations of this name.

Drew

Drew started out life as a Scottish short form of Andrew. One form of Andrew in Irish is Aindriú, so Driú would work well for this.

Dylan
Dylan is a Welsh name-- it is very ancient, and the meaning is disputed. Part of the name probably means "sea." There are several names in Irish that mean "sea," or have that as an element. A few are:

• Murchú (MUR khoo), "hound of the sea.": Murphy
• Murchadh (MIR a kha), "sea battler": Murrough
• Muiríos (MIR ees), "sea-strength": Maurice
• Muirín (MIR een), "born of the sea": -

Elise/Elisa
Elise is a French form of Elizabeth. In Irish, Elizabeth is Éilís (pronounced /AY leesh/).

Emma
Although Emma is possibly an unrelated name, you could use the form of Emily: Eimíle (EMM eel eh)

Erica, Erika
Erica is the feminine form of Erik, a Norse name meaning "one ruler." It can't be directly translated into Irish. However, in Scottish Gaelic, it was used as an anglicization of Oighrig, an old name with obscure origins. Erica's popularity also stems from the fact the Erica is the genus to which the Heather plant belongs. Because of this, you could also use a translation for Heather (see also).

Ethan
Ethan is a Hebrew name, borne by a minor character in the bible. I'm sure there's a translation of it in an Irish Language bible, but I haven't had any luck in trying to find one of those. You could try to spell it out phonetically in Irish, which would be something like Íatan /EE uh tun/ or Eatan /AY ah un/.

Faith

In irish, Faith isn't used as a name. But then, it wasn't a name in English until relatively recently in naming history, so who cares? Anyway, the word for 'faith' in Irish is: creideamh /KREH d'yav/ (this is more the sense of religion or beliefs; comes from the Latin credo) or muinín /M'WIN yeen/ (this means more to trust or have confidence in).

Gail, Gale, Gayle, Gael
The closest I can come for Gale is Abigeál (AB ih gyal). Gale was originally a pet form of Abigail that caught on as a name on its own.

Gary
As a first name, Gary started as an American phenomenon. It probably came about with the popularity of the actor Gary Cooper, who changed his name from Frank at the suggestion of his agent, a native of Gary, Indiana. The Indiana town probably got its name from an English settler--as an English surname, Gary may be derived from the first name Gerald or Gerard. Because of this, you may use the Irish for Gerard, Gearoid (GAR id) as a translation. However, In Ireland, Gary is a surname that is an anglicization of the Irish surname Mag Fhearadhaigh (Son of Fearadhach). Fearadhach (FAR akh) would also work as a translation.

Gerry, Gerri, Geri, Jerry, Jeri
Gerri (for a girl) in Irish would be Gearoidín. (Gerri was originally a pet form of Geraldine, although it's used on its own now). For a boy, Gerry/Jerry would be Gearoid (Gerard) or Gearalt (Gerald). 

Glen, Glenn
Glenn started out life as an English surname, possibly stemming from the Gaelic word "gleann," meaning "valley." In Irish and Scottish Gaelic, this is not a name, simply a word. It's pronounced glyan.

Grace
This Puritan virtue name was often used to translate the Irish name Gráinne. This name is pronounced GRAWN yeh, and may stem from an ancient word for "grain" (indicating fertility). It is also anglicized Grania.

Gretchen
Gretchen is a German pet form of Margaret. In Irish, Margaret is Mairéad (mar ADE). A pet form of Mairéad is Peig (PEG) or Peigín (PEG een) .

Gwen, Gwendolen, Gwendolyn, Gwyn
Gwen is a Welsh word meaning "white; holy; blessed; pure; fair-haired; beautiful." It is an element in many Welsh names (i.e., Bronwen, Gwenfor, Guenivere, Gwenith etc.). Gwen is the feminine form, while Gwyn is the masculine form. In Irish, "fionn" is a word with approximately the same meaning. Feminine forms of Fionn are Fionnait (FYUN it), Finnseach (FIN shakh), and Finneacht (FIN yukht). Masculine forms are: Fionn (FEE-un or F'YUN, anglicized Finn), Fionnán (F'YUN awn, anglicized Finian), and Fionnagán (F'YUNN a gawn, anglicized Finegan). Gwendolen is a combination of Gwen + dolen, which means 'ring.' In Irish, the name Fáinne (FAWN yeh) means 'ring.' as well.

Haylee/Hayley/Hailey etc.
Hayley and Haley; Haylee etc. are all from the English surname Haley/Haly, which comes from Old English words meaning 'hay' and 'meadow; clearing; field.' As such, Haley isn't translatable into Irish. However, the name Haly was sometimes used in Ireland to anglicize the surnames Ó hÉalaighthe ("ingenious") and Ó hÉilidhe ("claimant"), which are more commonly anglicized Healey. The first name forms of these would be Éalaigh /AY uh lee/ and Éilidh /AY lee/. You could also use Èilidh, which is a fairly common name in Scottish Gaelic (unrelated to the others)... it rhymes with Haylee (AY lee).

Heather
Heather is a plant native to Ireland, Scotland and many other areas of the world. in Irish, this plant is Fraoch (FRAYKH), which is actually a man's name in Irish. You could make this name feminine by adding the suffix -ín. Fraoichín (FRAYCH een)--not the most melodious of names, but it would do the trick. See also Erica.

Heidi
Heidi is a German nickname for Adelheid, which comes from Adelheidis, which in old French became Alice, which is Ailís in Irish. So in a roundabout way, In Irish, Heidi is Ailís (AH leesh).

Holly
The word for "holly" (the plant) in Irish is cúileann (KOO lyan). While this word isn't actually used as a name in Irish, I don't see why it couldn't! If people can be named Holly in English, why not Cúileann in Irish? But anyway, if you would like an actual name, there are several surnames derived from the word for holly. See Leslie for a list of these. You could also go another route, and use Nollaig, which is the word for "Christmas." Since holly is traditionally associated with Christmas, this might be a way to choose a bona fide name with a similar theme.

Irene
Irene is not translatable directly into Irish. However, you can translate by meaning. Irene comes from a Greek name meaning "peace." In Irish, the name Síomhaith or Síomha means "good peace." Both are pronounced SHEE-va.

Jackie, Jacqueline, Jacklyn etc.

Jacqueline is a French feminine form of Jacques, which in English is James or Jacob. In Irish, these names are translated as Séamus. However, there isn't really a feminine form of this. Many feminine forms of masculine names add the suffix ín, but this is also a masculine diminutive, thus making Séamaisín the equivalent of "Jimmy" or "Jake." Since a lot of modern female names use this form despite the masculine origins (just like Jamie is also a woman's name), you could go with this form anyway. Or, you could further feminize it into Séamaisíona (shay mush EE na), which is a little awkward, but could work.

Jason
The name Jason was never directly translated into Irish. However, Jason is considered a classical anglicization of a Greek version of the Hebrew name Yeheshua, from which we get the English names Joshua and Jesus. Because of this, you should use the Irish form of Jesus, Íosa (EE uh sa), to translate Jason. However, there is a problem, as in most languages except Spanish, Jesus is a name that's reserved for the Big Man of the New Testament; not for mere mortals. That is, Íosa is NOT used as a normal given name in Irish. You could remedy this by using Giolla Íosa (GYILL a EE uh sa), Giolla Chríost (GILL a khreesht), or Mael Íosa (MAL ee uh sa). These names mean "servant or devotee of Jesus Christ," and were used as given names in Ireland.

Jeanine, Jeannine, Janine, Jeanette, Jeannette, Janette, Ginette etc.
Jeanine is a French feminine form of Jean (French for John). It falls into the same category as Jeanne and Jeannette. In Irish, this name is Siobhán.

Jennifer
Jennifer is a Cornish form of the Welsh name Gwynhwyfar. In English, we also know this name as Guenivere, King Arthur's queen. It has never been translated into Irish. However, it it made up from elements meaning "white; blessed; holy" and "smooth." Fionnait is an Irish name meaning "white." This could be used as a semi-translation of Jennifer. Jennifer is often (inaccurately) listed as meaning "white wave" in many baby name books. I've gotten lots of e-mails from irate Jennifers who like this meaning and want to stick with it. If you like this meaning, then perhaps Muireann (MWIR in) would be a good translation for Jennifer--it means "sea-white" in Irish. You could also spell it out phonetically in Irish, which would be something like Seannafair or Siannfair /SHEN uh fur/.

Jeremy, Jeremiah
Jeremy is an English form of the Hebrew Jeremiah. It means "appointed by God." While this name was never directly translated into Irish, it was often used to anglicize the name Diarmaid. Diarmaid/Diarmuid (DEER mid) is an Irish name with an uncertain meaning. It may stem from words meaning "free from envy," or "charioteer." It is often anglicized Dermot.

Jessica
This name was first coined by William Shakespeare in his play The Merchant of Venice. It is based on the Hebrew name Iscah. While Jessica was never translated into Irish, the short form Jessie has been used in Scotland for a long time as a pet form of Janet. You could use the Scottish Gaelic form of Janet, which is Seonaid (SHAW nutch) or perhaps the Irish form of the same name: Sinéad (SHI nade). The Scottish Gaelic forms of Jessie are Seasag, Seasidh and Teasidh (SHES ak, SHES ee, and CHES ee).

Joanne
Joanne may be an English form of Johanna, the feminine form of the German name Johann. Johann is a form of John. A feminine form of John in Irish is Siobhán.

Jody, Jodi, Jodie etc.
While digging up an origin for Jodi, I found that, although it is used as a name by itself nowadays, it started out as a nickname for Judith. In Irish, Judith has been used to "translate" the names Síle and Siobhán. The first is pronounced /SHEE la/. and the second is /shi VAWN/.

Jordan
The surname Jordan was brought to Ireland by a Norman family sometime after the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. In Irish, this name became Mac Siúirtáin. The first-name form would be Siúirtán (SHOOR tawn).

Joshua
Sorry, Joshua is not translatable into Irish. It's a Hebrew name; and most Hebrew names (unless they are the names of saints, or in the New Testament) are not translatable. However, Joshua is an English form of the Hebrew name Yeheshua, which is the same name from which we get the name Jesus. In a roundabout way, you could use the Irish for "Jesus" to translate Joshua. This is: Íosa. See Jason for more details.

Joyce

Joyce was originally a surname (as in James Joyce), which has been used as a first name since the late 19th - early 20th century. In Irish it is Seoigh (SHO'ee).

Justin, Justine
These names are from the Latin justus, meaning "just." They are not translatable into Irish as far as my research shows. However, someone recently sent me an e-mail saying that Justin can be translated as Saerbhreathach, pronounced /SHARE vrahok/. Or, you can try to spell them out phonetically: Justin would be something like Siústan (SHOO stun) and Justine might be Siústaín (SHOO steen).

Karen
Karen is a Danish pet form of Katarina (Katherine). There are 3 pet forms of various Irish forms of Catherine (Caitríona, Caitrín)- Cáit (KAWTCH), Tríona (TREE uh na) and Caitlín (KOYT leen). You could also use Cáitín (KAW tseen). This is the one I like best, since Caitlín has become more widely known as Katelyn in English speaking countries.

Kimberly
Kimberly is an English surname, made up of the Germanic name Cyneburg + the element "Lee" meaning "meadow; clearing; forest; field." This name means, "Cyneburg's meadow/clearing." Unfortunately, there is no translation into Irish. You could use Coimín /KIH meen/, which, as a surname is sometimes anglivized Kimmons or Kimmins. You could also spell it out phonetically in Irish, which would be something like Ciombarlí /K'YUM bar lee/.

Kristin, Kristen, Kirsten, Krista, Kristi, Christie, Christa etc.
These names are all various forms of Christina and Christine. In Irish, the name is Críostíona (kree SHTEE uh na).

Laura, Lauren, Lori, Laurie
Laura, Lauren and Laurie/Lori are a modern feminine forms of the name Laurence. In Irish, Laurence is Labhras (LAV ras or LAW ras). You can make this name feminine by adding the suffix ín: Labhraín (LAV reen or LAW reen).

Leanne, Leeanne, LeeAnn etc.
LeeAnn is a modern creation--a blend of the names Lee (from an English surname meaning meadow; field; clearing" and Ann, from Hebrew meaning "God has favored me." To translate Leanne, you could simply use the form of Ann. (Ánna--not very exciting I know.) You could also get fancy and spell it out in Irish, Liathán /LEE awn/ -- this would mean something like "little gray one" and would probably be masculine. Liaithín /LEE uh heen/ would be a more feminine form, but now we're getting way off track and I am having too much nerdy fun with words.

Leslie, Lesley
Leslie is a Scottish surname with obscure origins. It probably originates from the place Lesslyn in Aberdeenshire. Lesslyn is probably derived from the Gaelic leas cuilinn, meaning "garden of holly" Thus, you could use a name meaning "holly" to partially translate Leslie. The only first name with this meaning is Mac Cuilinn, literally meaning "son of holly," however, you could use one of these surnames derived from "holly," as Leslie was originally a surname: Cullen, Quillan, Cullinan(e), and Quillinane. You could also simply use the word for "holly." (see also Holly.) Or, you could spell it out phonetically in Irish, like Leaslaí /L'YAS lee/ or Lioslaí /L'YUS lee/.

Lindsay, Lindsey
This is a Scottish surname originally denoting a place name in England. The meaning is "Lincoln's wetland." It is not translatable into Irish. However, Lindsay was sometimes used to anglicize the Irish surname Ó Loingsigh , stemming from the word "mariner" (more commonly Lynch, Lynchy, Linsky, Glinchy, Clinchy etc.) You could use Loingseach /LUNG shakh/ as a translation.

Lisa
Lisa is derived from Elisabeth. Originally, it was a pet form used in various European countries. It caught on as a name on its own in the English-speaking world. You can translate it by using the Irish form of Elizabeth, which is Éilís (AY leesh). If you wanted to get fancy, you could use Sibéal (shih BALE), which is technically the Irish form of Isabel. But since Isabel(la) is just another form of Elizabeth, why not?

Lori, Laurie
Laurie/Lori are a modern feminine forms of the name Laurence. In Irish, Laurence is Labhras (LAV ras or LAW ras). You can make this name feminine by adding the suffix ín: Labhraín (LAV reen or LAW reen).

Lynn, Lynne, Lyn
Lynn does not translate into Irish. It's meaning is obscure--it probably began as a modern short form of names like Marilyn or Linda. A lot of baby name books list Lynn as meaning "waterfall" in Welsh, Scottish or Irish. Don't be fooled! While there is a word "linn" that means "waterfall" in Scots, it has no connection to the name Lynn. You could spell it out Phonetically, as Linn /L'YINN/ or Lionn /L'YUNN/, but these mean "pool; pond; lake" or "time period" and "meloncholy" respectively.

Madison

Madison comes from an English surname meaning "son of Matthew." However, since Madison is usually a girls' name these days, you could use a feminine form of Matthew. Matthew in Irish is Máta, Maidiú, or Maitiú. You could make Maitín /MA teen/.

Megan, Meghan, Megann, Meagan, Meaghan, Meegan, Meeghan etc.
What started out as MEGAN, a Welsh pet form of Margaret, has mutated into all sorts of faux-Irish spellings and pronunciations. See Modern Irish Names for a more detailed explanation for Megan and friends. To translate Megan et. al. into Irish, you could either use Mairéad (mahr ADE), the long Irish form of Margaret, or Peig (PEG), the short form. Peigí /PEG ee/ and Peigín /PEG een/ are other short forms.

Melanie
Melanie means "dark" in Greek (think "melanin"). You can use a name that means "dark" or "black": Ciara ("black"), Ciar ("black"), Ciarnait ("black lady"), which can be anglicized Keera, Keir and Keernit respectively.  You could also try to spell it phonetically in Gaelic, which would be something like Méalainí /MAY ull uh nee/.

Melissa
Melissa is a Greek name derived from the word for "bee." It has never been translated into Irish. However, the Irish Gaelic mans' name Mael Íosa is sometimes anglicized Melisa. It is pronounced mal EE sa, and means "servant of Jesus."

Michaela, Michelle
These are both feminines form of Michael; Michaela is the Latin version, which is also used in English and a number of other languages in various spellings. Michelle is French. There is no feminine form of Michael in Irish (Michael is Micheál), but if you're not a stickler for authenticity, we can add our old friend the modern feminine ending ín to it. This would make Micheáilín, pronounced MEE haul een. Note: somewhere down the line someone wrote a baby name book saying that McKayla is an Irish name. THIS IS NOT TRUE! The name McKayla disn't even exist until probably the 1990s, when it was used as an alternate spelling of Michaela by parents enamored with trendy names like McKenzie and McKenna.

Monica, Monika, Monique
In Irish Gaelic, the native Irish name Moncha (MUN ikh a) was often translated as Monica. This name will work well. It is derived from the name of a Celtic goddess, although the meaning has been lost.

Morgan
Originally Welsh, Morgan stems from elements meaning "circle" and, possibly, "sea." It has been used in the past to anglicize the Irish mans' name Murchadh, meaning "sea-battler." This name is pronounced MUR a kha, and often anglicized Murrough. Since this is a mans' name, you could probably use the feminine name Muireann (MWIR un) to translate it for female Morgans. Both conatain the element "muir" meaning "sea." I think this may also stem from a Celtic element from which Morgan also gets its "sea" syllable (mor). Muireann isn't a direct translation, but it will do! It means "sea-white."

Natalie, Natasha, Natalia
These names are all derived from the Latin root natal meaning "birth." The implied meaning is "birth of Christ" (i.e., Christmas), and were originally given to babies born on or around Christmas. In Irish, the word for Christmas is Nollaig (NULL ig). This is also used as a first name, although not just for Christmas babies either!

Nicole, Nicola
Nicole and Nicola are feminine forms of Nicholas. Nicholas in Irish is Nicolás, or Nioclás. To make them feminine, you could add ín-- Nicoilín (NIK o leen) or Nioiclín (NIK leen).

Pamela, Pam
This name was invented by the English poet Sir Philip Sidney for his 16th century poem Arcadia. It is possibly derived from the Greek, "all sweetness." In this case, it could be translated as Sadhbh (SIVE), meaning "sweet" in Irish.

Rebecca, Becky
As far as I know, Rebecca has never been translated into Irish. However, if you want a stretch, you could use the name Úna (Oona, Una, Oonagh etc.). Úna is thought to derive from the word for "lamb," and Rebecca is sometimes translated as "ewe." It's not exact, but both names have some sort of sheep connection. Someone just e-mailed me and said that an Irish teacher had said that Rebecca in Irish is Ríobhca (REEV ka), which would make sense. However, I've never seen this before. It's possible that this is the version used in the bible, although never as a given name.

Renee
Renée is a French name meaning "re-born." It was never translated into Irish. However, the Greek name Anastasia, meaning "re-born" has a translation. It is Annstas (AHN stis), with the pet form Stéise (STAY sheh).

Robin (female), Robyn, Bobbi(e), Roberta
These are all feminine forms of Robert. In Irish, Robert is Roibeard, but there is no Irish feminine form. You might be able to feminize it as Roibeairdín (RAH nard een) or perhaps Roibín (RAH been).

Sally, Sadie
Sally and Sadie both started out life as pet forms of Sarah, a Hebrew name meaning "princess.". Sarah was never translated into Irish, although it was used as an anglicization of the name Sorcha (SUR a kha). Sorcha is an Irish name meaning "light." The cultural connection between Sarah and Sorcha is so great, in fact, a lot of baby name books still define Sorcha as being "the Irish form of Sarah." 

Samantha
Samantha is a relatively modern name. It was first used by African slaves in the USA. It is based on the name Samuel and other names like Iantha. It could be considered a feminine form of Samuel, a name which rarely has a feminine form in any language. However, if you want to grasp at straws...the mans' name Somhairle was often anglicized Samuel, although it has no etymological connection. You could use Somhairle, or its anglicized form, Sorley as a translation, or you could attempt to feminize Somhairle by making it Somhairlín (sore-leen). 

Sandra, Sandy
Sandra is originally a short form of Alexandra. In Scottish Gaelic, Alexandra is Alastrìona (Alastriona with a grave accent on the "i" if your computer is not reading that correctly.) It is pronounced AL iss TREE uh na. Kind of like Alice-Trina. I don't think there is a technically Irish form of this name, but Alastríona (same name, but with an acute accent) will work.

Shannon

For a boy, this would be Seanán /SHAN nawn/ (it's the equivalent of Johnny in Irish--this comes from the surname form). For a girl, you could use the form Sionnan /SH'YUH nun/, which is the form used in Ireland for the River Shannon. It is named for a Celtic goddess.

Sharon
Sharon is a Biblical place name meaning "plain" in Hebrew. It was never translated as a name into Irish, as it has only become used as a name in the 20th century. You could spell it out phonetically in Irish, like Seáran /SHAW run/ or Siaran /SH'YA run/.

Shawna, Shauna, Shana, Shaina, Shayna
Shawna/Shauna/Shayna are modern feminine forms of Sean/Shane. Sean/Shawn/Shane are Irish forms of John. In Irish, you could use Siobhán, Sinéad, or Síne to translate these. Or, since these are modern names, you could make a modern feminine by adding the final "a" to Sean: Seána. in Scottish Gaelic, you could use Seonaid or Seonag.

Sherry
Sherry began as Shari, a pet form of Sharon. Unfortunately, Sharon was never translated into Irish. If you were really desperate, you could translate the name as seiris (SHER ish). This is the exact Irish word for "sherry," as in the alcoholic beverage. This is most definitely not a name in Ireland, simply a vocabulary word, but hey! if people can be named Brandy and Sherry in English, why not seiris? You could also take another route--the name Mc Sherry has been used to anglicize the Irish surname Mac/Ó Searraigh, which possibly means "foal." Thus, you could use Searrach (SHYAR akh), the root name.

Stacy, Staci, Stacia
Stacy is not directly translatable into Irish. Originally it was an English surname, deriving from the first name Eustace. However, a lot of baby name books list Stacy as being a pet form of Anastasia. While this is only true if your name is Anastasia, and happened to be called Stacy, you could probably use the Irish form of Anastasia as a rough translation. It's Annstas (AHN stis). It does have a nickname: Stéise, which is pronounced /SHTAY sheh/. Hey, that's pretty close to Stacy, isn't it?

Stephanie, Stefanie
Stephanie is a French feminine form of the name Stephen. In Irish, Stephen is Stíofán (SHTEE fawn). There is no feminine equivalent in Irish, but you could make a modern one by adding "ín": Stíofáinín (SHTEE fawn een) or perhaps Stífín? (SHTEE feen)--although the second one looks a little strange. An older Irish form of Stephen is Stiana (SHEE uh na), perhaps you could use this as the base to form a feminine name: Stiainín (SHTEE uh neen)--that's kind of pretty!

Sydney/Sidney

Sydney has two origins-- either as a Norman name coming from Saint-Denis, in which case you could use Donncha(dh) for a boy, as Denis was used as a translation of this name. However, most Sydneys these days are girls, so that wouldn't work too well. The other origin of Sydney is from an English place name meaning something like 'wide meadow island in a river' which isn't very helpful... you could just try to spell it out phonetically in Irish, like Sidní /shid uh nee/.

Tammy, Tami
Tammy, although it's used on its own now, started out life as a nickname for Tamsin. This is a feminine form of Thomas (from Thomasine). Unfortunately, there is no genuine Irish feminine form of Thomas. In Irish, Thomas is Tomás, you could make a modern feminine form (in the same vein as Seosaimhín for Josephine and Paidraigín for Patricia): Tomáisín. However, this may also be a boys' name, like Tommy. It is pronounced /TUM awsh een/.

Taylor

Taylor is an English surname, originally denoting one who worked as a tailor. In Irish, the word for "tailor" is Táilliúr /TAW eel'yoor/. This is not used as a name in Ireland, rather as simply a word for someone who sews and mends clothes, but until recently, Taylor wasn't used much as a first name in any country, anyway!

Tina
Tina started out life as a pet form of Christina. In Irish, Christina is Crístíona, which is prononced kree SHTEE uh na. In Scotland, Christina is Crìstìona, and has short the forms Stìonag (SHTEE uh nuk) and Ciorstan (KEER stun).

Tracy, Tracey, Traci etc.
Most commonly found as a surname in Ireland, Tracy can be rendered Treasach, meaning "warlike."

Troy
In Irish, Troy is generally a surname, an anglicization of Ó Troighthigh, meaning "foot-soldier." To make this a first name (Ó Troighthigh literally means 'grandson of Troighthach'), you could use just Troighthach /TRUH eehakh/.

Vanessa
Since Vanessa was coined by an Irishman (the author Jonathan Swift), you could consider it already Irish! However, we could do more traditional things to the name... Jonathan Swift took the name from ESther VANhomrigh--you could use the Irish for Esther, which is "Réaltín" /RAY ul tseen/... Or, many Vanessas I know are called simply "Nessa." This is an Irish name itself, the name of the mother of Conochobhar Mac Neasa, a prominent figure in Irish folklore. Neasa is the Irish Gaelic spelling.

Virginia
Virginia is a Latin word based on the word "Virgin." The Irish word for "Virgin" is maighdean or óge. However, both of these words also can mean 'maiden' or 'young girl'--as when the language was first being coined, "virgin" and "girl" were basically the same thing.

However, if you look at the cultural relevance of the name Virginia...*why* are people named "Virgin" at all? In the USA, the name was first used by Virginia Dare, the first baby born in the New World, or in the colony of Virginia or something...my history is rusty. She was named for the colony of Virginia. Virginia was named for Queen Elizabeth I, the so-called "Virgin Queen". In a roundabout way, you could use the Irish translation of Elizabeth (Eilís) as a substitute for Virginia. You could also use Regina in Irish (Ríona), which means "Queen".

But wait! Virginia can also be used in honor of the Virgin Mary, in which case, the Irish form of Mary (Máire) could also be used.

Wendy, Wendi
Wendy was first coined by the English author James Barrie for his novel Peter Pan. He was inspired by the phrase "fwendy wendy," a baby-talk nickname for "friend," which was given to him by a childhood friend. This name has never been translated into Irish. Based on this, you could use the name Cara, which is not really used as a name in Ireland (though it is sometimes found in Northern Ireland). Cara means "friend" in Irish. To go another route, many baby name books list Wendy as being a pet form of Gwendolen, simply because Gwendolen contains the syllable "wend" in the middle. This is the derivation of Wendy only if your name is Gwendolen and you happen to be called Wendy. If this is the case, or even if you'd like to stretch the truth a bit to give yourself an Irish name, you could use the following names: Fionnait (FYUN it), Fionnseach (FYUN shokh), Fionnúir (FYUN oor), Fionnchaomh (FYUN kheev), Finneacht (FYUN yokht), or Fionnmhaith (FYUN uh va). All of these names contain the element fionn, which means "fair-haired; white." The name Gwendolen is comprised of the elements gwyn, meaning "white; holy" and dolen, meaning "ring." You could also use the name Fáinne (FAWN yeh), usually anglicized Fania, an Irish name which means "ring."

Zoe
Zoe is not directly translatable into Irish. However, since it means "life" in Greek, you could translate it as Beatha. This name means "life" in Scottish Gaelic. It is pronounced "BEH ha."