If you have Irish ancestry, you might want to honour your heritage by giving your daughter an Irish name. Here are ten of the most unique and beautiful Irish baby girl names, what they mean, and how to pronounce them.
1. Aisling (pronounced ash-ling)
The name Aisling means ‘dream’ or ‘vision’. In Irish language poetry, an aisling is a genre of poetry that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, in which the poet dreams of the nation of Ireland in the form of a woman.
2. Aoife (pronounced ee-fa)
The name Aoife means ‘beautiful’, ‘radiant’ or ‘joyful’. It is derived from Aífe, a warrior woman in Irish mythology.
3. Caitlin (pronounced kate-lin)
Caitlin is a Gaelic form of the name Catherine and means ‘clear’ or ‘pure’.
4. Ciara (pronounced keer-a)
Ciara is a feminine version of the name Ciarán, meaning ‘dark-haired’.
5. Erin (pronounced air-in)
Erin is taken from the Irish name for Ireland itself.
6. Maeve (pronounced mave)
The name Maeve means ‘she who intoxicates’, ‘mead woman’ or ‘she who rules’. It comes from the Irish name Méabh and from Medb, the Queen of Connacht in Irish mythology.
7. Orla (pronounced or-la)
Orla means ‘golden princess’.
8. Roisin (pronounced ro-sheen)
Roisin means ‘little rose’.
9. Saoirse (pronounced seer-sha)
Saoirse means ‘freedom’.
10. Siobhan (pronounced shi-vorn)
Siobhan is the Irish version of Jeanette, itself a French version of Jane. The name means ‘God forgave’ or ‘God gratified’.
