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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Need some nice Irish names..

87 replies

mica23 · 05/11/2008 12:42

Dont know sex of the baby yet but would like to give it an Irish name.DP is Irish but no help!!Thank you..

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LadyGlencoraPalliser · 06/11/2008 12:12

Ferdia comes from Irish mythology - in the Cuchulainn stories he is Cuchulainn's best friend and ends up being killed by him.

Liffey · 06/11/2008 11:37

Is Ferdia Irish, I nver knew that! I always wondered why that Portuguese name had 'flown' in Ireland.

mamalovesmojitos · 06/11/2008 10:35

girls
love siún (pronounced shoon)
saoirse
laoise (leesha)
aifric
dara is also a girl's name.
love bláithín
béibhinn
bláithnid

boys
tadhg
naoise (neesha)

spinspinsugar · 06/11/2008 10:03

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moyasmum · 06/11/2008 09:55

mica23 - My Polish sil says the same. She must be mine in any language!

roobarbschmoobarb · 06/11/2008 09:54

DD has Aoibh (Eve) as one of her names

Others we considered were

Brenna
Erin
Aoife
Aisling
Firinne

and my personal favourite, but ruled out on the difficult spelling...Caoilfhinn (pronounced Kaylinn)

Names we considered for DS were

Dalaigh
Brannagh
Eoghan
Riordan
Tiernan

Our top boy choices were Odhran and Oisin...in the end we opted for the Scottish Keir

Fab reference book for you for if you can get your hands on a copy is Celtic Names for Children...it's by Loreto Todd and has not just Irish Celtic names, but Celtic names from Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany

Turniphead1 · 05/11/2008 18:17

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kormAaaarrrggghhhchameleon · 05/11/2008 18:09

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MrsMattie · 05/11/2008 17:17

Ah, Seamus is such a great name. It does remind me of old uncles but I think it is well due a revival.

pofaced · 05/11/2008 16:16

Whoops... Hiberno-warrior (Ferdia, Fachtna, Naoise, Oisin... although Ferdia easy enough to say/ spell and is fab!

pofaced · 05/11/2008 16:15

Just a word of warning to all you Hoberno-warrior types... I am Irish and gave DD1 an irish name but it was/ is very difficult in the UK as a) no-one can pronounce it and b) no-one can spell it. This latter was a big deal when she started to write her name/ sound it out as the spelling bore no relation to the sound so if you are choosing an Irish name bear this in mind eg Owen is easier than Eoghan, Rory/ Malachy easier than Darragh, Ashling easier than Aislinn... Beibhinn (Bay-veen), Tadgh (Tige with a soft "t" and guttaral "g"), Aodh (A) and Mhaolmhuire (Mwail-mwurra) may be difficult in an English classroom!

kormAaaarrrggghhhchameleon · 05/11/2008 16:03

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nailpolish · 05/11/2008 14:36

oh yes SEamus is gorgeous
i know a v handsome seamus

Liffey · 05/11/2008 14:35

PS, I really like Seamus. That is so cool. All the old codger Seamuses are disappearing fast, it's ready to be a toddler name.

Please not Caitlin or Cian. They sound a bit cream cracker to me now. Sorry.

Liffey · 05/11/2008 14:34

Some I considered even though I didn't give my children Irish names: Clodagh, Maeve, Oisin, Diarmuid and Tadhg

Niamh and Aoife and Caoimhe Cian have all 'made it' in the UK but sound a bit blah to me. Eve sounds more 'exotic' to my ear!!

Cara means friend in Irish.

Blainnaid means flowers or Bloom perhaps. I like that one. Pronounced BLONNud. Might sound a bit strange to the English ear though.

Liadan pronounced LEEadin is gaining popularity here too.

For boys I like also like Malachy, Donach, Cathal, Cormac.

Fintan or Finbar make a change from Findlay. They are the irish gaelic equivalents.

SoupDragon · 05/11/2008 14:16

I wanted to call BabyDragon Caoimhe but decided it was too darn tricky for non-Irish (and no one in my family is Irish )

singyswife · 05/11/2008 14:14

I know a child called Aiofe (pronounced Eifa). My dd1's name is Caragh. If it is spelt (cara it means 'term of endearment' but changing it to Caragh changed the meaning to 'love'.

Turniphead1 · 05/11/2008 14:11

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Original poster
mica23 · 05/11/2008 13:50

moyasmum- in Croatian Moya spelt moja but pronaunced same means mine.

OP posts:
MrsMattie · 05/11/2008 13:47

I love Oisin for a boy@Turnip. Would you say Osh-een or Oh-sheen?

Off the top of my head, some names I like:

Girls:

Aoife
Liadan
Mairead
Aifric
Aisling
Sorcha
Grainne
Roisin
Saoirse
Caoimh e
Siobhan
Tara

Boys:

Dara
Ciaran
Cian
Cillian

jeangenie · 05/11/2008 13:46

Cara means friend which is lovely

I also love Aoife, Aisling (means dream or vision), Eimear and Sorcha (light)

for boys

Malachy, Ruairi, Oisin

wish I'd given mine irish names sometimes

donnie · 05/11/2008 13:43

absolutely love Emer.

nailpolish · 05/11/2008 13:42

Daire (Dara) for a boy
Cian (boy)
Padraig (boy) can have Paddy for short which i think is fab

RubysTheBoss · 05/11/2008 13:42

My dd middle name is Rafferty, which was her great-grandmas maiden name. But think it makes a lovely first name for a girl too!

TwoIfBySea · 05/11/2008 13:39

Dts1 is Niall (pronounced the Irish way 'Nyle' and not the Scottish way 'Neil'.) It means champion which he is and was the name of an ancient King.

If I were to ever be lucky enough to have another baby (note to self...need a new dh first!) Oisin would be on the list. I love how it sounds plus it means "little dear deer" and was the name of a warrior hero and poet!