Gaelic girl names

[Beca]

We're Irish/French. I wanted my first dd to have an Irish name, since our last name is French....if I am lucky enough to have a second dd, she's getting a French name.

Anyway...I looked at all the beautiful Gaelic and Irish names....and couldn't decide...so, we just named her Ireland (Faith Ireland, actually).

Too bad it is becoming so popular!!



Beca

 

[VSL]

Depends on what she means by Gaelic. There are Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic names. They aren't always the same. For instance:

Megan - Welsh
Meghan - Irish
Meagan - Scottish

Then there are Gaelic derived names like Bonnie and Heather.
A few that I can think of that I like:
Fiona, Ceila, Mairi

Wales/Welsh isn't Gaelic.

The Celtic groups are:
- Scotland
- Ireland
- Wales
- Cornwall
- Isle of Man
- Brittany (in France)

The languages are sub-divided:
Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx are Goidelic (Gaelic).
Welsh, Breton and Cornish are Brythonic.

It's probably much easier to think of looking for a Celtic name rather than a Gaelic name, or a specifically Irish or Scottish name if going for a particular region.
So, for example (I'll stick with the three most known Celtic regions):
Welsh names: Arwen, Gwendolyn, Rhiannon, Carys, etc.
Irish names: Shauna, Shannon, Sinead, etc.
Scottish names: Bonnie, Kyla, Maisie, Vanora, etc.

 

[Laura]

http://behindthename.com/
This is the site I use for name research. Most others just tell you what you want to hear. This one actually has accurate info.

That is a great website!

It has tons of names listed by category (it organizes the Celtic names by place: Irish, Welsh, etc.), and you can do searches by meaning, too. If you want to name your child after a tree, just choose "meaning" in the drop-down box, type in "tree", and it will come up with a nice list.

I always thought Ailish (not sure if I spelled that right) was a cute Gaelic name. It might be spelled Eilish?

There's Ailis (Irish form of Alice; "AY-leesh") and Eilis (Irish form of Elizabeth, "IE-leesh") and Eilish (Anglicized version of Eilis, pronounced the same). Very pretty!

 

[rpbert1]

Tara would be my choice for a girl

 

[Conservative Hippie]

My favorites: Maura, Meghan, Hannah, Eileen, Kathleen ,Colleen and my latest favorite...Maeve. My cousins in Ireland have named their children true Gaelic names ...like Triona, Liadhan and Dairine ,but over here in the good ole USA...I feel that they would really be too hard to pronounce and spell!

That's me! You could pick one of my names, Meghan Eileen, or some of my other favorite Irish names...

Bridget
Deirdre
Moira
Maura
Emer
Caitlin
Brenna

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Conservative Hippie...Love your name !!!! My DD10 name is Meghan Catherine , that is just because I gave her "my" middle name. My favorite cousin in Ireland's name is Eileen and I could have used that as well.Wish I had more daughters...there are so many pretty Gaelic/Irish names out ther !

 

[sap1227]

I love, love, love the name Brenna (and have a Brennen)

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I gave my girls Irish names, but nowadays they are probably considered more Americanized Irish. DD#1 is Kelly, and DD#2 is Erin. Before someone tells me I know that no one in Ireland uses Erin for a name but I don't care--depending on the source it means Peace or actually menas Ireland. Her full name is Erin Kathleen.
Robin M.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Molly
Siobhan
Colleen

Molly is actually a nickname for Mary.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Those are both beautiful Irish/American names . When I named my 1st born son "Ryan" 21 years ago,my cousin from Ireland questioned his name...she said "we don't use surnames over here to name our children". I love the name Ryan...even though it's an Irish Surname,but us Irish/American's consider it an "Irish" name ,non the less !!!

 

[2ScottishPrincesses]

My youngest daughter is Niamh which mean brightness, it is the name of a fairy princess from a Celtic tale Niamh of the bright hair. My older daughter's middle name is Morven, that is the name of a place in Scottland. Another name we had considered for Niamh was Orla which is Celtic and means Golden Princess. For boys names we liked Finn, Struan and Lachlan (shortened to Lachie). Good luck from Kirsteen (gaelic for Christine)

 

[Sugardimples]

My partner's niece is named Maille (pronounced Molly).

 

[MareQ]

I like Maddigan

 

[LaraK]

My DD is Caitlin....her middle name is Grace. So she is a blending of the Irish and English. (Caitlin means pure...so the meaning of her name is Pure Grace)

 

[Tinijocaro]

My daughter's best friend is Teagan and is cute as a button. Her mom calls her Tiggie sometimes- very cute.

 

[ziggystardust]

I'm an Eileen - but I never liked my name. I would have preferred a more gaelic name

 

[mrsltg]

I gave my girls Irish names, but nowadays they are probably considered more Americanized Irish. DD#1 is Kelly, and DD#2 is Erin. Before someone tells me I know that no one in Ireland uses Erin for a name but I don't care--depending on the source it means Peace or actually menas Ireland. Her full name is Erin Kathleen.
Robin M.

My name is Erin Kathleen!!!!!

My kids are Dierdre Kathryn, Patrick Henry (dh is a history buff!), and Caroline Clare. We've begun talking about names for this baby. If the baby is born anytime between 12/20-12/26 and is a girl, her middle name will be Noel. If it's a boy, we like Liam, Connor, and Sean. If it's a girl, Bridget, Meghan, Shannon and Sarah. I LOVE Aisling, Ailis, Siobhan, and Ciara but DH is a no go on names that can't be pronounced (he hates that people can't spell or say Dierdre).

 

[NotUrsula]

Just realize that there are Irish names, and there are Irish-American names, and if the extended family is really Irish, a lot of the Irish-American names would get the child laughed at in Ireland, or at least draw a lot of really puzzled attention. Tops on that list would be Colleen, or a real fake like Katelynn. If you use an Irish-American name, don't claim it as Irish when speaking with native Irish people.

The Irish as a rule do not like "kreative" spellings, and are quite put off by them, which is why traditional Irish names are spelled in transliterated Irish, not Anglicized. (The whole country had quite enough of THAT in the old days, when the use of old Gaelic names was not permitted by the Church.)

Also be aware that in Ireland, certain names have very strong political connotations. Saoirse is one of those. (Most of the rest are male names -- "Oliver" being the most loaded.)

 

[ToTLaugher]

We used Kerry for our daughter. It is a county in Ireland. She loves the name and enjoyed doing a report on the area for school!

 

[LakeAriel]

I always liked the name Niamh (girl, pronounce neeve)

Thanks for posting this..My neighbor's (from Ireland) daughter is Niamh..I never would have remembered the spelling!

I have a Kerry!