Traditional Baby Names for Irish Boys

Home > Articles > Irish First Names > Traditional Irish Boy's Names A - C

Most popular Names in Ireland | Traditional Girl's Names | Traditional Boy's Names

Many well-known Irish boys names are translations from English and although names like Michael, Patrick, Brendan and Thomas were, and are, very common, they are not actually Irish names at all - but English ones which as a result of common usage became associated with Ireland.

Older names of Gaelic origin which have retained their popularity over the generations include Oisin, Cian, Eoin, Cathal and Fionn.

The names below are all of older, occasionally unknown, origin, some popular down the years, others regaining popularity after many years in the wilderness.

Traditional Irish Boy's Names A-C

Boy's Names D-I | Boy's Names M-U

	Say	English	Origin/History
Abban	ab-an		Means 'monk'. There was a 6th century saint of that name.
Ailill	ail-eel		A 'sprite' or other-worldly being. Ailill Molt was an early Irish king.
Ailbe Ailbhe	alby alvy	Albert	A 6th century Irish saint who was a disciple of St Patrick and is said to have been raised by wolves.
Ainmire	ain-mirra		Means 'mighty lord'. Aedh Ainmire was a 6th century king of Tara.
Amhlaoibh	awe-luf	Auliffe	A Norse name which became an Irish one, from 'Olaf'. McAuliffe is a reasonably common surname.
Anlon	on-lon		Means 'great champion'. It was a common name in the O'Brien clan but little used otherwise.
Aodh Aedh	ai (as the letter 'a' in gate)	Hugh	Aodh means 'fiery". Red Hugh O'Donnell was the leader of many battles with the forces of Queen Elizabeth the first at the end of the 1500's before being defeated by her army at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601.
Aodghan	eh-gawn	Egan	Means 'little fire'. More common now as a surname.
Aodhan	aid-awn	Aidan	Aodhan means 'little Aodh' or 'little Hugh'. St. Aidan of Iona who founded a monastery at Lindisfarne in England.
Aongus or Aengus	ain-gus		From 'aon' meaning 'one' and 'gus' meaning 'strength' or 'vigour'. In Celtic mythology Aengus of the Birds is the god of love or of youth and vitality.
Ardál	awr-dahl	Arnold	Means 'high valour'.
Art	art		Often mistakenly thought related to Arthur, which it isn't, though it is nowadays used as the Irish for Arthur. Once a common name, the most famous bearer of it was Art McMurrough a king of Leinster.
Banan	bon-on		Means 'the white one'.
Bearach	bay-rock	Barry	Means 'sharp' or 'spearlike'. St Barry was a disciple of St Kevin at Glendalough.
Bradán	bray-dawn		Means 'salmon' which in a round about way means wisdom, as a result of the Irish legend of the "Salmon of Knowledge" which is retold and illustrated at that link by 3rd class at Scoil Muire in Lucan.
Brandan	bran-don		Often used in place of Brendan, but is in fact a different name. May derive from 'bran' meaning raven. Mount Brandan in Co Kerry is named after St Brendan though. Confusing.
Breandan	bren-don	Brendan	Means 'prince'. A name which has been in consistent use in Ireland since the 6th century at least. It is widely believed that Irish St Brendan the Navigator reached America before Columbus.
Brín	bree-an	Brian	'Brí' means hill and in the context of a name it means 'high (as in noble) and strong'. Brian Boru was the first high King of Ireland and the man who defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf.
Buach	boo-ock		Means 'victor or conquerer'.
Cairbre	care-bra		'Strong man'. It occurs frequently in Irish mythology, most notably as Cairbre Nia Fer, who was a King of Tara killed by Cuchulainn. His brother later had a hand in killing Cuchulainn.
Canice Coinneach	kan-iss	Kenneth	Canice is itself an Anglicisation of 'coinneach' meaning 'attractive one'. St. Canice, a 6th century saint, founded the church in Kilkenny which gave the city its name - Kilkenny in Irish means "Canice's Church".
Caoimhín	quee-veen	Kevin	St. Kevin's monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow, with its round tower, is one of Ireland's most famous monastic sites.
Caolan	keel-an		From the Irish word 'caol' meaning 'slender'.
Cathal	kaw-hal		Means 'great warrior'. It was a common name in medieval Ireland.
Cearbhall	car-ool	Carroll	Means 'victorious warrior'. Cearbhall O'Dalaigh was president of Ireland from1974-1976.
Cian	key-inn	Kane, Kian	The name means 'long lived' or 'ancient one'.
Ciarán	key-rawn	Kieran,	Ciar means 'dark' and the '' at the end indicates 'small' so the name means 'little dark one'. There are several saints of this name in Irish history.
Cillian	kill-ian	Killian, Keelan	'Of the church'. Si Killian was a 7th century Irish Christian missionary in Europe who was killed by a Duke after he berated him for marrying his brother's widow. He is the patron saint for sufferers of rheumatism. The name is likely to become more popular now thanks to Irish movie star Cillian Murphy.
Coileán Coilin	coal-een	Colin	Means a 'pup' or 'cub'. Very old Irish name now more often used in the English version.
Colm	col-um		Means 'dove'.
Colman	coal-man		Means 'little dove', sometime taken to mean 'peacekeeper'.
Cónán	kow-nawn	Conan	Means 'little hound'. Was a common name in early Ireland. In Irish legend Cónán Maol (or Conan the Bald) and Conan Mac Lia were both warriors of the Fianna.
Conchobhar	conko-var	Conor, Connor	Means 'lover of hounds'. Conor MacNessa was one of the most famed Kings of Ulster.
Conn	kon		In Irish legend Conn of the Hundred Battles was a high King of Ireland and a forebear of the O'Neill clan. The name is still quite widely used in Ireland.
Cormac	kor-mack		May mean 'raven' or 'son of the charioteer'. Sometimes translated as 'impure son' but this is not believed to be correct.
Críostóir	cresh-tore	Christopher	Irish version of the English name. Particularly common in Galway.
Crónán	crow-nahn	Cronan	'Little brown one'. St Cronan was a 7th century abbot who founded an Abbey and a school at Roscrea, which is still in existence to-day.