145 Irish girl names that are popular in Ireland
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)
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This article was originally published on TODAY.com