Irish baby names

[Melissarella]

First post! DH is English, I am Irish and pregnant with DC1. Looking for Irish name suggestions.

Struggling to find names we both like and that DH doesn't immediately associate with just one member of my family/friend/famous person. For example, I like Ronan for a boy but he said it was 'too Boyzone'. I know loads of Ronans so don't think it's an issue and I'm going to be giving birth so think I should get to decide.

We live in inner London. Kids at school will have names from a wide range of countries and cultures, so not worried about the name being unusual in the UK.

Surname starts with F so would prefer to avoid F names. I have a very common Irish girl's name starting with A and would like a different name for any DCs.

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Hi there - this thread is a little old. [[https://www.mumsnet.com/baby-names/most-popular-irish-baby-names
If you’re looking for an Irish baby name, find inspiration here]]. MNHQ

Cushla? Do you mean Acuisle?

I think Fionnuala is an Irish girls name? I'm in the UK and know of one little girl with this name. Not sure if it's popular in Ireland but I think it's cute.

Cushla is a girl's name in its own right meaning beat of my heart or something along those lines.

Acuisle means beat of my heart. Cushla is a shortened anglicised form. Its not an Irish spelling, or full name.

I keep coming across the name Saoirse & loving it but we have a long, hard to spell and harder to pronounce (for non Irish) surname, so feel it would be borderline cruel to saddle our child with a first name that could also be described that way!

It's not an actual name though eden. As Tiddly said it means 'beat' or 'pulse'.

And??? Loads of the names mentioned derive from Irish words. I mentioned Saorla which is an alternative spelling (nicer imo) of Saorlaith.

But it used as a name though. Like I know a Cushla.... how can her name not be a name....

Nobody is saying your friends name isn't her name, just that is a short form of another name, and not using the Irish spelling.
Like if your friend was called Treena, that would be the English spelling of the nickname for Catriona. See?

I'm not saying there aren't people in the world called Cushla. But you could call someone Pulse if you wanted, still doesn't make it a proper name.

Boys:
Breifne
Tarlach
Tiernán
Aidan
Colm

Girls:
Alana
Sinéad
Sibéal
Sadhbh/Sive/Sadbh
Darerca
Personally I like Macuisle - Macúshla.
It was used by Clint Eastwood for the Hilary Swank character in Million Dollar Baby.
It's very unusual.

Cuisle mo chroí = beat of my heart. Cuisle is just the 'beat' part.

'Personally I like Macuisle - Macúshla.
It was used by Clint Eastwood for the Hilary Swank character in Million Dollar Baby.
It's very unusual.'

Saoirse (freedom)
and
Iseult are lovely for girls.
I love Isolde too but I don't think it's Irish.

Yes it is a beautiful name!

Aw Mitzy.......
Gobnait is the most godawful name EVER.
Have you heard the Father Jack (Frank Kelly) take on the Twelve Days Of Christmas with Gobnait O' Loonacy?

I suppose 'beat' is a pretty appropriate nickname of a boxer when I think of it!

All the Neasas I know pronounce it properly, including the Nessas who use Neasa as their Irish school name.

I guess it's more Nyasa than Nassa strictly speaking.

Never heard Conchubhair Mac Neasa called Mac Nessa either.

I have an Ailbhe. We say Alva, just as we'd say Neev (Dublin family) but I know some would say aylva. Also loved clodagh (cloda), aisling (ashling), aoife and maeve

Ailbhe is lovely.

I would also say Alva.

Naoise for a boy or a girl, although I've only known female Naoises.

Neasa seems to be a tomayto/tomahto thing, then. All the ones I've known, including one who was an old lady and another who's a native speaker of Irish, pronounce it Nessa.

Just like every Irish schoolchild I've ever known pronounces it "Conor Mac Nessa", as it's even spelled that way in some school textbooks.

Nassa makes me think of the space programme tbh.

Niamh pronounced as Nee uv? Really? Never heard it pronounced any other way than Neev..