150 Best Irish Names With Meanings for Baby Boy

By Ruchelle Fernandes - Updated: November 21, 2022

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Video: 25 Best Irish Baby Boy Names With Meanings
List of Irish Baby Boy Names With Meanings

There are hundreds of Irish names for boys that you can choose from for your little baby boy, and we’ve got a great list for you! Many of these names, especially the traditional ones, have great depth in their meaning and origins. Make picking out a name for your little one from these top Irish male names a fun experience!

Video: 25 Best Irish Baby Boy Names With Meanings

List of Irish Baby Boy Names With Meanings

Here are three lists starting from the popular Irish boy names, to unusual names, and traditional names.

Most Popular Irish Baby Names for Boys

Name	Meaning
Alfie	Alfie, short for Alfred, comes from the old English word ‘Elfred’. It is the words aelf (elf) and raed (counsel) compounded meaning ‘wise counsel’.
Alex	Alex is derived out of the name ‘Alexander’. The name means ‘defender of mankind’.
Alan	Alan is a popular Irish name. The name means ‘noble’ and has variants such as Allan and Allen.
Aodhan	Pronounced as Aidan, this name means ‘born of fire’.
Ben	Ben is short for Benjamin which has Hebrew origins. It means “son of the right hand”.
Brandon	Brandon comes from the Irish name Brenhin, which means ‘prince’.
Brion	Brion is a variation of the name Brian. It is thought to mean ‘honorable’ and ‘strong’.
Caolan	Pronounced as Keelin, the name means ‘slender’.
Ciaran	Pronounced Kee-ran, Ciaran means ‘little dark one’.
Colin	Colin is short for Nicholas, and it means ‘pup’.
Conor	Conor roughly means ‘lover of hounds’. It can also mean ‘high desire’.
Connelly	Connelly means ‘love, friendship’.
Darcy	The Name Darcy has French and Irish origins meaning ‘the dark one’ or ‘the fortress’.
Devin	Devin has Irish origins and means ‘poet’. However, it is not the same as Devon.
Donnacha	Pronounced done-acka, the name means ‘brown-haired warrior’.
Duncan	While the name has its origins in Scotland, it has been extensively adopted by the Irish. In Gaelic, it means ‘dark warrior’.
Darby	Darby ‘free one’ in Gaelic.
Donal	Donal is the Irish derivative of Donald. It means ‘proud chief’ in Gaelic.
Darren	Darren means ‘little great one’.
Farrell	Farrell is an Irish name which means courageous.
Flynn	Flynn means ‘son of the red-haired one’ and has deep Irish origins.
Finn	Finn is the anglicized derivative of the Irish name Fionn which means ‘fair, white, clear’.
Grady	Grady is a popular boy name with Irish Origins meaning ‘noble’ and ‘illustrious’.
Garret	Garret in Gaelic means ‘spear strength’.
Hugh	The name Hugh has ancestry in Irish, English and German cultures and means ‘mind, intellect’.
Harry	Harry means ‘home ruler’ or ‘army commander’.
Hugo	Hugo has Irish, French and German origins, meaning ‘heart, mind, intellect, spirit’.
Ian	Ian is originally the Scottish form of John. It means ‘God is gracious’.
John	John is one of the oldest and most widespread names with Hebrew Origins. It also means ‘God is gracious’.
Jake	Jake has its origins in the biblical character Jacob. It means ‘seizing by the heel, supplanting’.
Jamie	Jamie is a nickname for James. It is also common as an independent name. It means ‘supplanter’.
Jordan	Jordan is an old name with Hebrew origins. It means ‘to flow down, descend’.
Jonathan	Jonathan is also a name with a Hebrew origin. It means ‘Yahweh/God has given’.
Kevin	Kevin means ‘handsome, kind, comely birth’.
Keith	Keith means ‘the wind’.
Karl	Karl has its origins in the German culture where it means ‘a man, peasant, freeman’.
Killian	Killian stands for ‘war, strife’.
Leo	While Leo is an old Latin name which means ‘lion’.
Michael	The name Michael has Hebrew origins. The name means ‘who is like God?’
Murphy	Murphy is a highly popular Irish name that means ‘sea warrior’.
Mason	Mason means ‘one who works with stone’.
Martin	Martin comes from the Latin word ‘Martinus’. It means ‘of Mars or war-like’.
Matthew	Matthew is a highly popular name, which means ‘gift of God’.
Max	Max is a pet name for Maximilian, which means ‘the greatest’.
Neil	Neil is derived out of the Gaelic word Niall. Neil in Irish is thought to mean ‘a champion’ or ‘a cloud’.
Nathan	Nathan has Hebrew origins and means ‘gift’.
Noah	Noah comes from the Hebrew word ‘noach’ which means ‘rest, comfort’.
Ollie	Ollie is a loving short form of the name Oliver with French origins. It means ‘olive tree’.
Oran	Oran is a stylish and modern-ish name meaning ‘white’ or ‘pale’.
Oscar	Oscar is a popular boy name with origins in French. It means ‘golden city’.
Owen	Owen is thought to be of Welsh meaning ‘lamb’ and also Gaelic meaning ‘youth’.
Paul	Paul has Latin origins, meaning ‘small’, ‘humble’.
Phillip	Phillip means ‘lover of horses’.
Ruairi	Pronounced Rory, the name means ‘red-haired king’.
Sean	Sean is the Irish variant of the name John, which means ‘God is gracious’.
Shaun	Shaun is derived from Seán. It is also an Irish version of John meaning ‘God is gracious’.
Shane	Shane is the Anglicized Irish name Seaghan, which is another form of John.
Shay	Shay is a wonderful boy’s name of Irish origin. The name means ‘hawk’.
Tiernan	The meaning of this name is ‘little lord’.
Zach	Zach comes from the Greek word Zacharias meaning ‘rememberence of God’.

Unique & Unusual Names

Name	Meaning
Aidan	Aidan has its roots in the Irish word Aodhan, which means ‘little fiery one’.
Angus	Angus means ‘one strength’.
Barry	Barry is an old Irish name, meaning ‘fair haired’.
Brendan	This name means ‘prince’ or ‘king’.
Brian	Derived from the Gaelic name Brigh, Brian means ‘high’ or ‘noble’.
Brody	Brody means ‘broad eye’ or ‘broad island’.
Blaine	Blaine means ‘slender’ or ‘angular’ in Irish.
Callum	This sweet and unique name means ‘dove’.
Conan	This modern and elegant name means ‘little warrior’ or ‘wolf’.
Cormac	Cormac means ‘charioteer’ in old Gaelic.
Cian	Pronounced as “keen”, Cian is a very popular name that means ‘ancient’.
Colm	Colm in Gaelic means ‘dove’.
Cullen	The name has Gaelic origins and means ‘holly tree’.
Cathal	Cathal is an Irish Celtic name which means ‘powerful in battle’.
Carson	Carson has an Irish-Scottish origin and means ‘son of the marsh dwellers’.
Clancy	Clancy is a rare name that means ‘red-haired warrior’.
Ciarán	Derived out of the Irish name Kieran, this name is popular with Irish and the English. It means ‘little dark one’.
Craig	Craig means ‘rock’.
Declan	Having an Irish descent, Declan means ‘man of prayer’.
Dillon	Dillon means ‘loyal’. It is also spelled ‘Dylan’ outside Ireland.
Donovan	In Gaelic, this name means ‘dark’.
Diarmaid	This Irish name means ‘free from envy’.
Daithi	Daithi is the Irish version of the Hebrew name David. Pronounced as “Dah-hee”, it means ‘beloved’.
Eoghan	Pronounced as Owen, the name means ‘born of the yew tree’.
Fionn	This name is pronounced in different ways: Finn, fee-in, and Fyon. The meaning of this name is ‘fair-headed’.
Gulliver	Gulliver is a popularly known name that means ‘glutton’.
Ivo	Ivo has ancestry in Irish and German cultures and the name means ‘yew wood, archer’.
Kai	Kai means ‘sea’.
Kellen	Kellen has both Irish and German ancestry and means ‘slender’.
Kayden	Kayden can ‘companion’ or ‘friend’.
Kian	Kian is a derivative of the name Cian from Celtic origins, which means ‘enduring’.
Killian	Killian is a pet form of the name ‘Ceallach’ with Irish origins. It means ‘war, strife’.
Kermit	Kermit in old Irish means ‘free man’.
Kerry	Kerry means ‘dark’ or ‘dark haired’.
Keenan	Keenan means ‘ancient’.
Lennon	Lennon has Irish origins and means ‘small cloak or cape’. It can even mean ‘little blackbird’.
Liam	Liam is an old Irish name that originates as a pet name for ‘Uilliam’. The name means ‘resolute protection’.
Lorcan	This unique and less heard-of Irish name means ‘fience’ or ‘silent’.
Lucan	Lucan is an Irish derivative of the name ‘Luke’, which means ‘man from Lucania’.
Maguire	Maguire is a relatively popular Irish surname which means ‘son of the beige one’. It is also being used as a first name.
McCoy	McCoy is a an old Irish name which means ‘fire’.
Marcus	Marcus is thought to mean ‘dedicated to Mars’, or ‘warlike’.
Nolan	Nolan is old Irish for ‘champion’.
Nevin	Nevin means ‘holy’.
Niall	Niall is an Irish boy name which means ‘Cloud’. It is similar to the word Neil but is pronounced as “nye-al”.
Odhrán	Odhrán means ‘little pale green one’.
Phelan	Pronounced as “Fay-lan”, this Irish name means ‘wolf’.
Padraig	Pronounced in different ways like Paw-drig or Patrick, the name means ‘nobly born’.
Padraigh	Padraigh is an old Irish boy name which means ‘patrician, noble’.
Patrick	Patrick is the English variant of the Irish name Padraig. It means ‘nobly born’.
Piran	Piran is an ancient Irish word which means ‘prayer’.
Quinn	Quinn is an Irish name which can mean ‘intelligence’, ‘chief leader’ or ‘descendant of Conn’.
Riley	This Irish name means ‘courageous’.
Rory	Rory is a strictly Irish name derived from Ruairi, meaning ‘rust-colored, red’.
Sullivan	This Irish name means ‘black eyed one’.
Tristan	Tristan means ‘tumult, riot’.
Torin	Torin is an old Irish boy name which means ‘chief’.
Tadhg	Pronounced as “tiger”, this Irish name means ‘Poet’.
Tynan	Tynan in Irish means ‘dark’.
Tyrone	Tyrone is an Irish boy name meaning ‘land of Eoghan’.

Old and Traditional Irish Names

Name	Meaning
Aaron	Having Hebrew origins, Aaron is derived out of Aharon which means ‘the exalted one’.
Adam	Adam is one of the oldest names around derived out of ‘Adama’ which means ‘red earth’.
Bradan	Pronounced as “bray-dawn”, the name Bradan means ‘salmon’. In old Irish, it signifies ‘wisdom’.
Brin	The word ‘bri’ means hill. Therefore the name Brin in context means ‘high/noble and strong’. It is pronounced as “breen”.
Carbry	Carbry is another old Irish name which also means ‘charioteer’.
Cashel	Pronounced as “Cash-ill”, the name means ‘castle, stone fort’ in Irish.
Callahan	Callahan is an old Irish name which means ‘bright headed’.
Cillian	Cillian is a spectacular and stylish boy’s name is pronounced as Kill-ee-an. The name means ‘war’, or ‘bright-headed’.
Collin	Collin in Irish means ‘victor’ or ‘victorious people’.
Dara	From Irish roots, Dara means ‘fertile’ or ‘fruitful’.
Darragh	Pronounced as “darra”, Darragh can be translated into ‘fruitful’ and ‘fertile’ or ‘dark oak’ or ‘oak tree’.
Declan	Declan is pronounced as “day-glawn” and means ‘son of prayer’.
Diarmuid	Pronounced deer-mid, the name means ‘without enemy’.
Eamon	Eamon is an old Irish name that means ‘keeper of riches’. It is pronounced as “aim-on” and has derivatives in Edmund and Edward.
Eoin	Pronounced as “oh-in”, the name is often understood as ‘well born’. Eo also means Yew, and the name is also translated as ‘Land of the Yew’.
Fergal	Derived from the name Fearghal, the name means ‘courageous’ and ‘brave’.
Fergus	Fergus is an old Irish name, meaning ‘strong man’.
Fintan	Fintan can be divided into two. Fin means ‘white’ and ‘tan’ means ‘fire’, so the name can be translated to ‘white fire/heat’.
Jack	Jack is a worldly name of non-Irish origin. It refers to the person ‘who thinks God is gracious’.
Lochlann	Lochlann is an old word which means ‘place of the lakes’.
Niall	Pronounced as “nile”, the name is associated with royalty as it was common with kings. It is thought to mean ‘passionate’.
Odhran	Odhran which is pronounced as “oh-dran” means ‘dark-haired’.
Oisin	Oisin, pronounced as “usheen”, means ‘young deer’ or ‘fawn’.
Rian	Pronounced Ree-An, this short and fine name means ‘little king’.
Ronan	Ronan means ‘little seal’.
Ros	Ros has old Irish origins and means ‘prominent’.
Senan	Pronounced Sennin, the meaning of this name is ‘ancient’ or ‘little wise person’.
Uaine	This unique boy’s name means ‘green’ or ’emerald’.
Ultan	Pronounced as ‘ult-un’, it means ‘Ulsterman’, one of the provinces or Ireland at the northern tip.
Verlin	The name Verlin means ‘farthing’.

May this list of lovely Irish names provide an interesting and exciting experience of naming your new bundle of joy!

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Ruchelle Fernandes

Ruchelle has a vast experience working with clients in hospitality, health and wellness, entertainment, real estate, and retail. She aims to utilise her learnings to deliver quality content which will in turn help drive sales and customer engagement.