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Baby names

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Original poster

Irish girls' names in England and Wales 2021

84 replies

SeanChailleach · 24/10/2022 14:06

Here are the top twenty Irish names given to girls in 2020 in the UK:
Erin 884
Orla 794
Maeve 654
Nora 406
Niamh 362
Alba 352
Cora 349
Connie 338
Paige 252
Maeva 226
Kiara 213
Quinn 210
Tallulah 194
Norah 176
Neve 172
Anya 171
Keira 147
Peggy 125
Cara 123
Lia 118
Kyra 110
Margo 103

[Title edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

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LyndaLaHughes · 10/11/2022 11:36

SeanChailleach · 24/10/2022 18:17

Yes Neve is an Anglicisation of Niamh. Although it's also a Spanish name, it's very commonly used by Irish people.

No it isn't. Irish people use "Niamh". 🤷‍♀️

Mummyeyes · 10/11/2022 10:16

Tallulah28 · 03/11/2022 21:15

Aine is not only pronounced “Awn-ya” in southern dialects… that is simply how the name is universally pronounced here…

Example of “Áine” said in a southern accent, like "Onya":

At 3:19 the presenter says: “Agus inniubh táimid ag dul go teach Áine Ní Ghlinn…” (And today we are going to Áine Ní Ghlinn’s house...”

Example of “Áine” said in an Ulster accent, like "Anya"

At 0:14 forward the presenter says: “Bean íontach linn inniú dárn láthair. So inniú táimid ag caint le hÁine Ní Bhreisleáin, bean de Gaoth Dobhair i dTír Conaill… (A wonderful woman with us today, in our presence. So today we are talking to Áine Ní Bhreisleáin, a woman from Gweedore in Donegal.”)

Example of “Áine” said by a Dubliner called Áine, like "Aynya"

At 1:33 she herself says: “Is mise Áine...Ní Ghallchóir… Gallagher… Is as Báile Átha Cliath mé…” (I am Áine..Ní Ghallchóir… Gallagher…I’m from Dublin..”)
JanetSally · 04/11/2022 09:01

Tallulah28 · 03/11/2022 21:15

Aine is not only pronounced “Awn-ya” in southern dialects… that is simply how the name is universally pronounced here…

Exactly. I doubt very much the OP lives in Ireland. Maybe she has some Irish heritage going back a couple of generations.

Tallulah28 · 03/11/2022 21:15

Aine is not only pronounced “Awn-ya” in southern dialects… that is simply how the name is universally pronounced here…

JanetSally · 03/11/2022 21:05

KnickerlessParsons · 01/11/2022 15:30

Quite a few of those I wouldn't consider to be Irish: Nora, Cora, Paige, Peggy etc

16 out of her 22 names are not Irish. I'm not sure where the OP got her understanding of Irish heritage from.

TowerStork · 01/11/2022 19:06

@mikado1 that's shockingly bad for a school book but I believe it. In primary school, our master was disgusted with the stupid stories in our Irish books (snails called Pól talking about the weather) so we rarely used them. lHe taught us with older books and told us mythology stories. It was the 80s so teachers could get away with ignoring the curriculum.

mathanxiety · 01/11/2022 15:34

Same goes for Assumpta, Immaculata, Consuela...

mathanxiety · 01/11/2022 15:30

Concepta is a Latin name.

It's a very Catholic name, but Irish and Catholic are not synonymous.

KnickerlessParsons · 01/11/2022 15:30

Quite a few of those I wouldn't consider to be Irish: Nora, Cora, Paige, Peggy etc

BellaCiao1 · 01/11/2022 15:28

@Enko Connie can also derive from Concepta which I believe is Irish

Enko · 01/11/2022 14:17

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Agree with this.
Also, anyone who disagrees with her is wrong and not getting it.

Oh and apparently Constance is now English and Connie Irish... Not Latin then? Meaning Constant???

JanetSally · 01/11/2022 13:59

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mikado1 · 01/11/2022 13:38

No, but what a pity in our Irish history books in primary school (1980s), the stepmother of the children of Lir was Eva, when she should have been Aoife! Unrelated but came to my mind!

TowerStork · 01/11/2022 13:08

if someone told me Aoife was a Russian or Welsh name I'd tend to agree, as I tend to think of Aoife as Eva.

Well that's just demented. This whole tread is basically what you "tend to think" irrespective of any understanding of the Irish language, heritage, or common usage. BTW, Aoife is not related to the name Eva.

JanetSally · 01/11/2022 11:55

BellaCiao1 · 01/11/2022 11:31

Fair enough, it doesn't derive from America though.

The names mention though are all Irish names with anglicised spellings:
Erin-Eirinn
Shannon- Sionnan
Colleen - Cailin

Apologies for lack of fadas - phone is glitching

No but it was first used as a name in America.

JanetSally · 01/11/2022 11:53

JenniferBarkley · 01/11/2022 11:23

I don't think of Erin as Irish either - more Irish-American like Shannon, Colleen etc. A nod to Irish heritage but not a traditional name.

Exactly. Usually by Americans of Irish descent.

JanetSally · 01/11/2022 11:52

BellaCiao1 · 01/11/2022 11:10

Where does it originate from then?

Your analogy is incorrect. Erin is derived from the Gaelic name for Ireland - Eirinn. India, Paris etc are the English names of those places.

Show quote history

Yes but it's not a traditional Irish name. It's a modern name that seems to have originated in America.

JenniferBarkley · 01/11/2022 11:32

I would class Eireann and cailín as Irish words rather than Irish names. I think you'd get plenty of funny looks if you used either for a daughter in Ireland.

BellaCiao1 · 01/11/2022 11:31

Fair enough, it doesn't derive from America though.

The names mention though are all Irish names with anglicised spellings:
Erin-Eirinn
Shannon- Sionnan
Colleen - Cailin

Apologies for lack of fadas - phone is glitching

mikado1 · 01/11/2022 11:25

Yes good examples JenniferBarkley!

I knew an Irish American family with a Noreen, Kathleen, Colleen and Maureen. ☺

I think I was 10 before I realised Mary and Patrick weren't Irish names! 😂

JenniferBarkley · 01/11/2022 11:23

I don't think of Erin as Irish either - more Irish-American like Shannon, Colleen etc. A nod to Irish heritage but not a traditional name.

mikado1 · 01/11/2022 11:20

I agree also, not Irish. The first one I heard of was American also.

FartOutLoudDay · 01/11/2022 11:18

Wikipedia says originated in the United States. I agree with pp that Erin isn’t an Irish name, but a name people with an Irish connection sometimes use to reflect that connection iyswim. It’s not a traditionally Irish name.

BellaCiao1 · 01/11/2022 11:10

JanetSally · 01/11/2022 10:58

Yes but it's not an Irish name. Anymore than Paris is a French name, or India an Indian name.

Where does it originate from then?

Your analogy is incorrect. Erin is derived from the Gaelic name for Ireland - Eirinn. India, Paris etc are the English names of those places.

JanetSally · 01/11/2022 10:58

Yes but it's not an Irish name. Anymore than Paris is a French name, or India an Indian name.