Irish baby girl names

Traditional Irish baby girl names E-M

Mary, the most classic of Irish baby girl names, is on the wane in modern Ireland. It didn't even figure in the top 50 girl's names in 2007 when just 124 Marys were registered. Maria was almost as popular with 119 registrations.

How many Marys can a hockey team handle?
Five, according to my Nana, front row, third from left.

It was very different back in the middle 1800s when one in four little girls was given the name Mary. The reason for this favouritism stems from it having been popularly proclaimed as the anglicised version of the much older name, Mór.

Back in early medieval Ireland, Mór was easily the most popular Irish baby girl name. It had a rich heritage. It was first recorded in the 7th century and was the name of two queens of Ireland in the 10th century. They were Mór, daughter of Domanll mac Lochlainn (king of the North) and Móre, wife of Tairdelbach Ua Conshobair (Turlough O Connor).

For nearly 600 years, it held its position as the most popular of all Irish names for girls and, in the 16th century, was once again the name of two queens: Mór, the daughter of Mac Caba and wife of the earl of Desmond.

As English became more prevalent in Ireland, the name was originally anglicised as Martha and Agnes before becoming Mary.

The other Irish baby girl names to give Mór a historical run for her money were Sadb (always in second place) and Etain, Finnguala, Gormlaith and Medb. Details of these names are in the list below.

Irish Name	Pronunciation	English equivalent	Meaning or Origin
Eachra	Ach-rah	xxxx	The most famous bearer of this name was the daughter of a king of Connacht in the 10th century. She was noted for her clear complexion.
Eibhlín	Ev-lin	Evelyn/Eileen	Of Anglo-Norman origin, from Aveline.
Eilís/Ailís	I-leesh	Elizabeth/Alice	Of Anglo-Norman origin. The Irish version of Alice or Elizabeth.
Éithne	Eh-ne/En-ya	Ena	A very popular early female name but also a less-common boy's name. In legend, Eithne was the mother of the god Lug.
Émer	Ee-ver	xxxx	According to legend, Émer had six gifts: beauty, voice, sweet speech, needlework, wisdom and chastity.
Étaín	Eh-dane/Eh-tane	xxxx	The heroine of an old Irish folktale who loved Midir, the fairy king.
Eabha	Ee-va	Eva	One of the wives of Nemed, the legendary invader of Ireland, and also appears in the Finn Tales.
Fedelm	Feh-delm	Fidelma	Among the many famous holders of the name were the 'nine times beautiful' warrior princess Fedelm Noichrothach, and the grand-daughter of Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Finnguala/Fionnuala	Fuh-noola	Finola	Meaning fair shouldered, it was one of the most popular Irish baby girl names in the early medieval period. Sometimes shortened to Nuala.
Fodhla	Foh-lah	xxxx	Another name for Ireland. In legend, Fodhla was wife of the god Mac Cécht.
Gormlaith	Gurm-lah	xxxx	Means splendid sovereignty. One of the most popular early Irish baby girl names.
Grainne	Grawn-ya	Grace	Possibly the name of a Celtic goddess, it was popular in the early medieval period.
Lasair	Los-ir	xxxx	Meaning flame or fire, this was one of the most common Celtic baby names.
Líobhan	Lee-von	xxxx	Appears in the Ulster Tales as the wife of Lúathlám. It means 'beauty of women'.
Luighseach	Lee-sak	xxxx	Derived from the boy's name, Lug, the female form means 'radiant girl'.
Macha	Mok-hah	xxxx	In legend, one of three war goddesses.
Máire	Mor-rah	Mary/Moira/Maura	Surprisingly, a very rare name before the 17th century
Medb	Mave	Maeve	One of the top 20 traditional Irish names of the late medieval period, it means intoxicating. The most famous Mebhs are the goddess of Tara, and the legendary queen of Connacht.
Mór	More	xxxx	Meaning tall or great, this was easily the most popular Irish baby girl name throughout medieval Ireland.