March 17 is St Patrick's Day and if you're having a March baby, you may want to draw from the exquisite well that is Irish baby names.
Perhaps you have Irish heritage or have a special affection for the emerald isle. Whatever your interest in Irish baby names, we'll have some that you'll love.
Popular names
These are names you will be familiar with, whether they're from you parents' generation or later.
Boys
Aaron, Adam, Aidan, Andrew, Brayden, Brendan, Brian, Callum, Cameron, Connor, Darcy, Declan, Dillon, Ethan, Finn, Gerard, Jack, Keegan, Kane, Kelly, Kyle, Liam, Niall, Owen, Patrick, Paul, Reece, Richard, Riley, Robert, Ryan, Seamus, Sean, Shane, Tristan, William
Girls
Aislin, Alannah, Bridget, Caitlin, Emma, Erin, Kaitlyn, Katie, Keira, Kelly, Kiara, Patricia, Sarah, Sophie, Teagan
Quirky choices
We'll leave it to you to decide which sex they are for. These names are for the truly adventurous and refer to 'the luck of the Irish', the colour green and natural features we associate with Ireland.
Clover, Cyan, Dublin, Emerald, Fern, Fortuna, Greene, Irelynn, Luck, March, Meadow, Mint, Rainbow, Sage
Traditional Irish names
Some of these come with a pronunciation guide for those not already familiar with traditional Irish names.
Boys
Bran, Breccán (brak-AWN), Cian (KEE-an), Colm, Conall, Coinneach (KON-ik), Diarmid (DEER-mit),Dónal, Donn, Eoghan (YEO-wan), Faolan (FEH-lan), Killian, Lugh (LOO), Seanan, Seamus (SHAY-mus), Searlas (SHAR-las), Tadhg (TY-g), Tiarnan (TEER-nawn)
Girls
Aileen, Ailis (AY-lish), Aoife (EEF-a), Caitlin, Eabha (AY-va), Eithne (ETH-na), Iseult (EE-sult), Maeve (MAY-v), Maoliosa (Ma-LEE-sah), Niamh (NEE-v), Róisín (ro-SHEEN), Saoirse (SEER-sha), Sile (SHEE-la), Sinéad (shi-NADE), Siobhan (Shi-VAUN)
Our top picks
Here are some unusual yet very workable names for babies named outside of Ireland. These are for those parents looking for a name that strikes a nice balance between Irish heritage and wearability.
Perhaps you don't want your child having to spell out his or her name to everyone. Maybe you want their name to be almost familiar though not popular.
These are our picks for babies being born right now. We think they have a contemporary feel for modern kids.
Boys
Cahir, Carey, Cavan, Clancy, Conley, Cormac, Daley, Devin, Donovan, Eamon, Finlay, Ivor, Keane, Keenan, Keelan, Kyran, Lonan, Malachy, Oran, Quinn, Ronan, Rory, Torin
Girls
Bidelia, Ciara, Cliona, Eadan, Eilish, Emer, Ena, Enya, Finola, Honora, Isolde, Ita, Keeva, Maeve, Meara, Nora, Orla, Rowan, Sorcha, Una
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