Irish Names

The flag of the Republic of Ireland. Most
Irish names have Celtic origins.

For this blog, some posts will be generic ideas for names per nationality based on what I find interesting. Since I am an overwhelming Hibernophile, it's simply natural that I start with Ireland. As you can tell below, I like wolf names.

MALE

• Conaire - "wolf herder"
• Conall - "strong as a wolf"
• Conan  - "wolf wisdom"
• Conn - "wolf reason"
• Connor - "wolf"
• Conri - "wolf king"
• Criofan - "fox"
• Faolan - "wolf"
• Fionntan - "fair hawk"
• Phelan - "wolf"
• Shea - "hawk-like"

FEMALE

• Ainsley - "one's own meadow"
• Aithne - "fire"
• Alyson - "noble"
• Brenda - "raven"
• Brenna - "raven maid"
• Bridget et al. - Goddess name (Brid)
• Erin - "peace"
• Fianait - "deer"
• Kiana - "soft, synthetic material"
• Moira - "the great"
• Morrigan - Goddess of magic name
• Riley - "valiant"
• Rowena - "white hair"
• Whiltierna - "wolf lordess"
• Yvon - "archer"

SURNAME

• Murphy - "sea warrior"
• Kelly - "warrior woman"
• O'Sullivan - "Grandson of Sullivan"
• Walsh - "foreigner, Welshman"
• O'Brien - "Grandson of Brien"
• Byrne - "Descendant of Bran"
• Kinsella - "Descendant of Cinnsealach"
• O'Connor - "Grandson of Connor"
• O'Neill - "Grandson of Neill"
• O'Reilly - "Grandson of Reilly"

A note on surnames: The prefix "Mc" or "Mac" means "son of", while the prefix "O'" means "grandson of".