Irish girls' names in England and Wales 2021

[SeanChailleach]

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]

I’m Irish with a Welsh name, that doesn’t make my name suddenly Irish!

You will notice I was speaking of Anya as the name I did not agreed to be Irish and later Margot..

My comment on Orla was to do with how I personally saw it having been brought up with it being a boys name. As is Kim for me.. I made that very clear.
I did not deny Orla being Irish. Nor did I claim it was Danish. To me however it will always be a boys name. I am aware here it is a girls name.

I do not think manuscripts and dictionaries are necessarily superior ways of finding out name roots. Like name sites they are only as good as the people who wrote them.

Again as I have already stated I do not agree that your list is all Irish names . Nor does many others judging by their replies.

Thanks sweet vampire for mentioning Constance Markiewicz. However, I don't think Constance is an Irish name, as it feels very English to me, in fact. When I say the name Connie seems Irish, I do mean that spelling, not as a shortening for anything else. As I've said before, maybe it's just me. Connaidhe is Irish for "affable, gentle", which is a lovely meaning.

In Northern Ireland last year 56 girls were named Cora, and 54 Cara. In Ireland 49 Cora and 155 Cara. So in total 105 Cora and 209 Cara. Does that make Cora popular in comparison with Cara? I think so. Does it make it an Irish name? I would say it is if you intend it to be. I'd put a fada on Córa so it means "just, fair, decent, tidy, affable, social".

Here's how the sound áine is pronounced in different dialects:
www.teanglann.ie/ga/fuaim/báine
www.teanglann.ie/ga/fuaim/láine
www.teanglann.ie/ga/fuaim/sláine

Have a listen and make up your own mind about whether the a is aa or aw (I think aa in Ulster, aw elsewhere) and whether there is a y after the n.

That's it from me on this thread. Slán libh.

Does it make it an Irish name? I would say it is if you intend it to be.

That's just not how it works though is it.

Putting a fatal on the o does not make it an Irish name.
Neither does any perceived popularity in Ireland (I don't know of any children called Cor) .
Some of the most popular girls names here at the moment are Emily Lilly and Grace. A few years ago it was Sophie and Emma.
Does that make those names Irish?

Many many Irish women, going back generations have been called Mary. Margaret is also hugely popular amongst an older generation. They're still not Irish names. Their Irish forms are Maire and Mairead (or Maighread).

That should have been fada not fatal.

And you're still pronouncing Aine wrong.

Many many Irish women, going back generations have been called Mary. Margaret is also hugely popular amongst an older generation. They're still not Irish names. Their Irish forms are Maire and Mairead (or Maighread).

Exactly.

How is Erin borderline?

It literally derives from the word Ireland.

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.

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.

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

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.

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! 😂

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

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.

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

Exactly. Usually by Americans of Irish descent.

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

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.

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!

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???

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