Throughout history, parents in the United States have turned to traditional names from Ireland when picking the name of a new baby girl.
It's a culture that Americans tend to "want to associate themselves with," Laura Wattenberg, creator of Namerology, tells TODAY.com.
“America has a long-running love affair with Irish names,” Wattenberg says.
In the case of Irish baby boy names, there is often a popular "Irish name of the moment." But that's not the case for girls.
In fact, the most popular girl name in Ireland, Fiadh, pronounced fia, is relatively unknown in the U.S.; names with Irish origins that are more common in the U.S. include Bridget and Maeve.
In the United States, Irish girl names are trending in two directions, Wattenberg says, ranging from names that sound smooth and flowing to names that feel like a "modern, androgynous surname."
And notably, "neither one of those is really part of the Irish naming tradition," she says.
In another American trend, parents will try to "Irish-ize" a name from another tradition by altering its spelling.
One example of that is seen in spelling like "Maeghan."
"Except, that's not an Irish name," Wattenberg says. "Megan was a Welsh nickname for Margaret."
Some of the top baby girl names in Ireland include Grace, Emily and Sophie.
145 Irish Girl Names
From the Ireland Central Statistics Office, these are the top 100 baby girl names in Ireland from 2021, with pronunciation from IrishCentral.com and BabyNamesofIreland.com for traditional names.
Wattenberg notes that pronunciation of these names can vary based on geography.
- Fiadh (fee-a)
- Grace
- Emily
- Sophie
- Éabha (ey-va)
- Lucy
- Mia
- Ava
- Lily
- Ella
- Amelia
- Chloe
- Hannah
- Sophia
- Emma
- Ellie
- Isla
- Molly
- Olivia
- Sadie
- Anna
- Freya
- Saoirse (ser-sha; hear “Little Women” actor Saoirse Ronan pronounce it)
- Evie
- Caoimhe (kwee-va or kee-va)
- Ruby
- Robyn
- Kate
- Willow
- Sofia
- Holly
- Aoife (ee-fa)
- Cara
- Róisín (ro-sheen)
- Katie
- Sadhbh (sigh-v)
- Leah
- Millie
- Isabelle
- Clodagh (cloda)
- Alice
- Zoe
- Sarah
- Erin
- Ada
- Annie
- Bonnie
- Charlotte
- Layla
- Rosie
- Maya
- Croía (cree-ah)
- Faye
- Zara
- Isabella
- Daisy
- Sienna
- Maisie
- Méabh (maeve)
- Ailbhe (alva)
- Harper
- Eve
- Eva
- Ivy
- Ciara (kee-ra)
- Jessica
- Clara
- Mila
- Fíadh
- Rose
- Aoibhín (ee-van or ay-veen)
- Niamh (neev)
- Julia
- Bella
- Maria
- Hazel
- Emilia
- Laura
- Indie
- Lauren
- Amber
- Aria
- Ayla
- Amy
- Lara
- Paige
- Elsie
- Heidi
- Elizabeth
- Pippa
- Mollie
- Evelyn
- Abigail
- Nina
- Áine (awn-ye)
- Laoise (lee-sha)
- Luna
- Alannah
- Penny
- Lottie
While outside the official top 100 list, other popular Irish girl names include:
- Laoise (lee-sha)
- Alannah
- Maeve
- Aoibheann (ay-veen)
- Cadhla (ky-lah)
- Aoibhe (ey-va)
- Nora
- Caragh (kara)
- Aisling (ash-ling)
- Aoibh (eve)
- Naoise (nee-sha)
- Eimear (ee-mur)
- Gráinne (graw-nya)
- Riley
- Nessa
- Quinn
- Kayleigh
- Bridget
- Orla
- Ríona (ree-ona)
- Keeva
- Bláthnaid (blaw-nid)
- Neasa
- Shauna
- Claire
- Imogen
- Teagan
- Saorlaith (ser-la)
- Orlaith (orla)
- Keelin
- Kara
- Liadh (lia)
- Eileen
- Enya
- Kiara
- Sinéad (shin-ade)
- Dara
- Clíodhna (clee-na)
- Emer (eemer)
- Siobhán (shiv-on)
- Shannon
- Fiona
- Sorcha (sur-ka)
- Mairéad (mi-rade)
- Oonagh (una)
Related video:
