LOL! Seems like I was posting this very thing a few months back, when daughter #2 was on the way. :) Some of the suggestion I got (or that are still on the list now that #3 has decided to surprise us lol) ...
Aingeal (Irish spelling for Angel), Alannah/Alana (nn. Lanie), Anwen, Aouregwenn (pron. a-oor-gwen, pure and beautiful), Ashlyn/Aisling, Branwen, Briallen (means primrose), Delanie/Delaney, Devanie (feminine form of Devan - the one we picked for dd#2!), Eavan/Aoibhinn (pron. even or ayv-in, depending where you look), Eilish, Fianna, Finola (nn. Nola is cute), Genevie, Morrigan, Richael (like Rachel, with different meaning)
HTH!
~Kelli, Mommy to Kaitlyn Abrielle and Devanie Rose
Some current favourite Irish girls' names we don't hear so often in North America:
Aoife- beautiful (I think, check that), pron. Eva 'EE-fva'
Niamh- pron. Neev, sometimes spelled Neve
Caoimhe- pron. half way between Keeva and Keevy, sometimes anglicised as Keeva or Keavy
Roisin- pron. rho-sheen, irish Rose.
Aine- pron. close to Anya, but it's an Ah sound
Sinead- pron. Shin-aid
Orla- gaelic is Orlaith
Eabha- irish Eve, pron. Eva/Ava (different name than Aoife completely, though they sound similar)
Cara
Aoibhe- pron. EE-va, alternate sp. to Eabha influenced by Aoife?
Maeve- a powerful queen of celtic myth. my 2nd favourite irish name :)
Siobhan- shuh-vonne, familiar in N. America, but not overused
Ailbhe- pro. AL-va.
Ellen, Jane, Lucy, Molly, Robyn, Alice, Ruth- English, but popular in Ireland.
My favourites are Niamh, Maeve and Siobhan from that list, but there are also ones like Bridget- lovely and Irish, and not over-used at all. And Eilidh, Ailis/Ailish, Eilis/Eilish, Ca(i)triona ("katrina"), Cailin/Colleen, Damhnait/Davnet/Devnet, Nuala, Eileen, Cathleen, Maureen, Moira, Fionnuala/Finola/Fenella, Nora(h), Noreen, Muriel, Una/Oona, Sile/Shelagh/Sheila...Irish (and Scottish) names are all lovely, but then I'm a bit biased :P
-Sisi PS our daughter is Isla (eye-la), which is more Scottish in usage, but I thought I'd add is anyhow. Niamh/Neve, Maeve, Bridget, Fenella/Finola, Muriel, Norah and Una are all on our shortlist if one of our twins is a girl- good thing we have another 4+ months to decide, lol. Good luck to you!
LOL! Seems like I was posting this very thing a few months back, when daughter #2 was on the way. :) Some of the suggestion I got (or that are still on the list now that #3 has decided to surprise us lol) ...
Aingeal (Irish spelling for Angel), Alannah/Alana (nn. Lanie), Anwen, Aouregwenn (pron. a-oor-gwen, pure and beautiful), Ashlyn/Aisling, Branwen, Briallen (means primrose), Delanie/Delaney, Devanie (feminine form of Devan - the one we picked for dd#2!), Eavan/Aoibhinn (pron. even or ayv-in, depending where you look), Eilish, Fianna, Finola (nn. Nola is cute), Genevie, Morrigan, Richael (like Rachel, with different meaning)
HTH!
~Kelli, Mommy to Kaitlyn Abrielle and Devanie Rose
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I, too, love irish names! My favorites are Tarah, Alannah & Keely. Good luck!
ABIAGEAL: Irish form of Abigail (brings joy)
AISLINN: Irish/Gaelic name meaning "Vision; dream." Variants include Aislin, Aisling, Ashling,
Alannah Alanna,Alana "a + lan + a"
Adding a to leanbh, the word for "child" in Irish, brings a sense of warmth – "O child" or "darling child."
BRIANNA, BRIANA, BREANNE, BRIANNE, BRINA, BRYANA, BRYANNA, BRYNA: strong
CASSIDY: clever
CIARA, CEIRE, KEARA: saint name
ERIN, ERINA: Irish name, from poetic name for Ireland
KEELY: beautiful
MAEVE, MAVE: joy
TARA: Irish/Gaelic name meaning "rocky hill," or "from the crag of a tower." Variants include Tarah, Tarra, and Tarrah.
ZAIRA: Irish form of Sara (princess)
Here is a great link: http://www.babynamesofireland.com/pages/girl-names-a-c.html
Bridget
Fiona
Iona
Maire "Myra"
Meera
Roisin
Ryanne
Sinead
Hi there,
My favourite Irish girl's name (at the moment, anyhow) is Niamh/Neve. Say "Eve" with an n in front, it means "bright" and is a saint's name.
Ireland's top baby names for 2004 can be found here (Niamh to my surprise was #10)
http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/births_d_m/current/babynames.pdf
Some current favourite Irish girls' names we don't hear so often in North America:
Aoife- beautiful (I think, check that), pron. Eva 'EE-fva'
Niamh- pron. Neev, sometimes spelled Neve
Caoimhe- pron. half way between Keeva and Keevy, sometimes anglicised as Keeva or Keavy
Roisin- pron. rho-sheen, irish Rose.
Aine- pron. close to Anya, but it's an Ah sound
Sinead- pron. Shin-aid
Orla- gaelic is Orlaith
Eabha- irish Eve, pron. Eva/Ava (different name than Aoife completely, though they sound similar)
Cara
Aoibhe- pron. EE-va, alternate sp. to Eabha influenced by Aoife?
Maeve- a powerful queen of celtic myth. my 2nd favourite irish name :)
Siobhan- shuh-vonne, familiar in N. America, but not overused
Ailbhe- pro. AL-va.
Ellen, Jane, Lucy, Molly, Robyn, Alice, Ruth- English, but popular in Ireland.
My favourites are Niamh, Maeve and Siobhan from that list, but there are also ones like Bridget- lovely and Irish, and not over-used at all. And Eilidh, Ailis/Ailish, Eilis/Eilish, Ca(i)triona ("katrina"), Cailin/Colleen, Damhnait/Davnet/Devnet, Nuala, Eileen, Cathleen, Maureen, Moira, Fionnuala/Finola/Fenella, Nora(h), Noreen, Muriel, Una/Oona, Sile/Shelagh/Sheila...Irish (and Scottish) names are all lovely, but then I'm a bit biased :P
-Sisi
PS our daughter is Isla (eye-la), which is more Scottish in usage, but I thought I'd add is anyhow. Niamh/Neve, Maeve, Bridget, Fenella/Finola, Muriel, Norah and Una are all on our shortlist if one of our twins is a girl- good thing we have another 4+ months to decide, lol. Good luck to you!