180 Lucky Irish Girl Names That Are Right On-Trend

Baby names are always subject to cyclical trends, and even smaller, subgroups of names have their own cycles too. Take, for instance, Irish names. "The generation of women with names like Erin, Caitlin, Shannon and Kelly are now expecting their own babies, and many are turning to the latest set of fashionable Irish girl names for their daughters," says Sophie Kihm, the editor-in-chief of the baby-name site Nameberry. "Maeve, for example, is a stand-out Irish girl name." Maeve wasn't even on the list of the top 1,000 names in the country complied by the Social Security Administration (SSA) until 2020, and now it's No. 75 on the overall list.

Choosing unisex or gender-neutral names is also a trend, Kihm adds, especially when it comes to last names as first names. "Fallon, Lennon, Collins, Darcy, Rory, and Sloane are currently red-hot," she says. "Some Irish names with traditional spellings are getting a boost from pop culture, notably Saoirse, as in Saoirse Ronan, or Siobhan from Succession."

If you're looking for more examples, try one of these top Irish baby girl names on for size.

Top Girl Names in Ireland With Meanings

So, which names are actually trending over in Ireland? The Central Statistics Office (CSO) keeps track, and these are the current most popular names for girls. Granted, they may not be all of Irish origin, but they are Ireland's top baby names.

Lily, flower name
Éabha, "life"
Fiadh, "wild"
Grace, "goodness" or "blessing"
Sadie, "princess"
Emily, "rival"
Sophie, "wisdom"
Olivia, "olive tree"
Croía, "heart"
Éala, "swan"
Mia, "mine"
Amelia, "work"
Isla, "island"
Sophia, "wisdom"
Ellie, diminutive of Eleanor, which means "bright shining one"
Lucy, "light"
Ella, "all"
Saoirse, "liberty"
Robyn, "bright fame"
Molly, "bitter"
Hannah, "grace"
Chloe, "young green shoot"
Rosie, "rose"
Sofia, "wisdom"
Freya, "a noble woman"
Anna, "grace"
Ava, "life"
Emma, "universal"
Evie, diminutive of Eve, "life"
Róisín, "little rose"
Caoimhe, "beautiful"
Sadhbh, "sweet"
Annie, diminutive of Ann, "grace"
Aoife, "beautiful"
Isabelle, "pledged to God"
Millie, "gentle strength"
Ruby, gemstone name
Méabh, "intoxicating"
Ayla, "a halo of light around the moon," "oak tree"
Maya, "illusion"
Alice, "noble"
Katie, diminutive of Katherine, "pure"
Charlotte, "free man"
Daisy, flower name
Ada, "noble"
Zoe, "life"
Clodagh, "of an Irish river"
Isabella, "pledged to God"
Maisie, "pearl" or "bitter"
Ailbhe, "noble"

It's interesting to see how this deviates from the most popular baby girl names in the United States. The top names in the U.S.—Olivia, Emma, Amelia, and Charlotte—are on the list, sure. But in addition, in some of the top spots, you have, Éabha (pronounced like Ava), Fiadh (pronounced FEE-ah, similar to Thea), Croía (pronounced KREE-ah), and Éala (pronounced AH-luh), which don't even make the top 1,000 girl names in the United States. That last one, Éala, is especially one to watch, because it jumped 96 places in rank in Ireland between last year and the year before, so it's a hot one.

Most Popular Irish Names in the United States

According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), which keeps track of baby names, these are the most popular girl names of Irish origin, listed in the order of their popularity.

Harper
Nora
Riley
Maeve
Kennedy
Quinn
Hailey
Rylee
Sloane
Reagan

Even though they're the most popular names of Irish origin, you're not going to see all of them on every lunchbox and cubby. Harper is only No. 12 on the list of most-used names of last year, and Reagan is way down at No. 244. But Riley and Rylee (along with Ryleigh down at 302) are currently taking up a few spots on the SSA list and is certainly a name to watch.

The SSA also keeps track of the names that are growing in popularity, so these names, which are just bubbling under, might overtake the Harpers and the Noras, listed in order from the biggest jumps in popularity to the smallest.

Elowyn
Rowyn
Kiera
Ayleen/Aileen
Eileen
Murphy
Bridget
Darcy
Delaney
Rory

Elowyn shot up a whopping 245 places in rank this year, and Rowyn isn't further behind, rising 244 places in rank. And two other fast-climbers, Clover, which rose 54 places in rank, and Emerald, which jumped 38, aren't of Irish origin, but they do have that Irish connection.

emerald fennell attends the coco fennell 10th anniversary dinner at the ned

David M. Benett//Getty Images

Emerald Fennell is an English writer, director and actress known for directing Wuthering Heights.

Rare Irish Names

Irish Central has come up with its own list of names, and if you're looking for something unique and original, they've got you covered. None of these names selected from their list made the SSA's top 1,000.

Aine (awn-ye)
Aoibheann (ay-veen)
Aoibhinn (ee-van)
Aisling (ash-ling)
Blathnaid (blaw-nid)
Bronagh (brona)
Cadhla (ky-lah)
Caragh (kara)
Ciara (kee-ra)
Clíodhna (clee-na)
Clodagh (cloda)
Dearbhla (durv-la)
Eimear (ee-mur)
Éireann (erin)
Eithne (enya)
Emer (eemer)
Fionnuala (fi-noola)
Grainne (grawn-ye)
Niamh (neev)
Laoise (lee-sha)
Mairead (mi-rade)
Muireann (mweer-in)
Nessa (nessa)
Nuala (noo-lah)
Orla (or-la)
Órlaith (or-la)
Oonagh (una)
Riona (ree-ona)
Sile (shee-la)
Sorcha (sur-ka)

If you choose one of these, they'll probably be the only one in the class with their name. Whether their teachers will be able to pronounce it on the first try is another question.

Irish Names That Come from Mythology

Naming kids after gods, goddesses and other mythological figures is a trend that spans cultures, from the Norse Freya to the Greek Artemis. Irish legends are no exception, and these could be up for consideration:

Bláthnat (means "little flower" and a character in early Irish literature)
Boann (goddess of the River Boyne)
Brígh (another form of Brigid, daughter of the god Dagda)
Brigid/Brigit (goddess of wisdom, poetry, healing and protection)
Clíodhna (queen of banshees, goddess of love and beauty)
Ériu (goddess of abundance who gave her name to Ireland)
Morrígan (goddess of war and death)
Ríoghnach (means "queenly," also the name of a wife of a legendary king of Ireland)
Saraid (daughter of a legendary king of Ireland)
Sionann (goddess of the river)

Irish Names From Pop Culture

On the stage or screen, these Irish names shine.

Caitríona (actress Caitríona Balfe)
Deirdre (actress Deirdre Mullins)
Enya (singer Enya)
Fionnula (actress Fionnula Flanagan)
Kiera (Derry Girls actress Kathy Kiera Clarke)
Kerry (actress Kerry Condon)
Maureen (actress Maureen O'Hara)
Sinéad (singer Sinéad O'Connor)
Sharon (actress Sharon Horgan)
Tara (singer Tara McNeill)

loewe fall 2023 rtw front row and ambiance pfw

Swan Gallet//Getty Images

Jamie Dornan (left) and Caitríona Balfe (right) starred in the movie Belfast together. Jamie is another name to consider, though technically its origin is Hebrew.