Irish names (boy/girl/anything)

Agree with mathanxiety, there are different types of Irish names

There are old and new Irish language names ranging from Niamh to Siun to Naoise. these are all names used in Ireland but some were rare - getting more popular now.

There are names that are "english" no Irish spelling but that are traditionally used in Ireland - Mary, Patrick, Anastasia, Alice, Kathleen etc. Florence is actually a name used traditionally for men in West Cork (almost all of them become Flor). I believe there was a tradition of Hyacinth for men too in some families in west cork.

I picked 2 "Irish language" names and 1 "traditionally used in Ireland" for my kids - like a Niamh, Seamus and Kathleen.

And then there are Irish-sounding names and Irish words that would never have been used as names that people are now using - Einin (with a fada) would be in that category. If it is an Irish word, Fraoch would be the same. I would be wary of using a name like that unless you were something of an Irish speaker (or madly in love with the name).

Good luck OP. loads of lovely names out there. I think Kathleen could be very retro and lovely.

By the way, Clodagh was a made-up name of its time. Think one of the anglo-Irish aristocracy in Waterford named his daughter after the river clodagh. Fiona apparently also made up by Walter Scott.

I think I saw Daegan mentioned - never saw that name before anywhere.

Imo there are different classes of Irish names - names in Irish and names that are traditionally used in Ireland. Thinking of my own family here, the names Anastatia, Lazerian, Moling, and Bridget were passed down through many generations. Only in my generation were names in Irish used - this was a very fashionable choice in the 60s and 70s as far as I can judge from school memories.

OP, wishing you well - hope your stress will fade.

I think I saw Daegan mentioned - never saw that name before anywhere.

Imo there are different classes of Irish names - names in Irish and names that are traditionally used in Ireland. Thinking of my own family here, the names Anastatia, Lazerian, Moling, and Bridget were passed down through many generations. Only in my generation were names in Irish used - this was a very fashionable choice in the 60s and 70s as far as I can judge from school memories.

OP, wishing you well - hope your stress will fade.

I think I saw Daegan mentioned - never saw that name before anywhere.

Imo there are different classes of Irish names - names in Irish and names that are traditionally used in Ireland. Thinking of my own family here, the names Anastatia, Lazerian, Moling, and Bridget were passed down through many generations. Only in my generation were names in Irish used - this was a very fashionable choice in the 60s and 70s as far as I can judge from school memories.

OP, wishing you well - hope your stress will fade.

I know a Kathleen shortened to Katie and think it's lovely. She is half Irish.
I much prefer it to Caitlin/Katelyn.

I was just replying to jed's question.

Patrick. Connor. Seamus. Shae. Kevin. Shaun. Ciaran. Malachy. Brendan

Aileen. Grainne. Clodagh. Bria. Bridget. Aine. Siobhan. Mairead. Sinead. Erin

Fraoch is the Irish for Heather afaik, so I could see it being used as a name.

Personally, I don't class Kathleen as an Irish name, as it's an Anglicisation.

There's no letter 'k' in Gaeilge.

But it depends on how restrictive we're being.

I don't know about there being "a lot" of non-Irish names on this thread - there are the three mentioned above - Linus is definitely Greek (it was my name of choice for DS1 but DH vetoed it), Mhairi is Scottish but has been explained as an auto-correct (easy done), and Fraoch is a Scots word - there's an island in the Hebrides called Fraoch Eilean, but there could easily be a similar word in Gaeilge as the two languages have many similarities.

I wouldn't class that as "a lot" of non-Irish names however. What are the others? Genuinely curious

It's hardly nastiness.

Really

Mhairi is indeed Scottish, as are my MIL, SIL and best friend with that name. My autocorrect is a bastard, probably because I type that name daily. Do forgive me and please don't make me relinquish my passport or my Leaving Cert.

How nasty are the pp who have just poo pooed other people’s names but not suggested any of their own?!

I'm Irish and there's a lot of non-names on this thread shock

seriously!

Fraoch????

Yes indeed, MayFayner.

(Mairi is the nominative).

Yes, several of those names I've never heard of or are spelled wrong. And Mhairi is Scottish, not Irish.

I agree with you MayFayner. I'm Irish and am baffled at some of these names. Isn't Linus a Greek name?

I love Caoimhe so much! And also Aoife (my dad is Irish). Unfortunately DP used his power of veto!

I'm Irish and there's a lot of non-names on this thread

If you are thinking of an Irish name check and double check the spelling (yes, there may be several accepted spellings but it's not just a complete free-for-all), and check whether the name is in fact a surname or if it exists at all

I Love Caoimhe!! But my cousin has stolen it.

I have a
Sean, a Padraig and a Bridget, (I came for the names too)

I like Kathleen but I don't know any

Clodagh
Maeve
Siun
Fraoch

Diarmuid
Daithi

Einin for a girl, Daegan for a boy