The story behind Irish
From Middle English Irish (12th c.), from Old English *Īrisċ, from Old English Īras (“Irishmen”), from Old Norse Írar, from Old Irish Ériu (modern Irish Éire (“Ireland”)), further origin heavily debated but probably from Proto-Celtic *Φīweriyū (“fat land, fertile”), from Proto-Indo-European *péyh₂wr̥ (“fat, swelling”), from *peyh₂- (“to swell; to be fat”), akin to Ancient Greek πίειρα (píeira, “fertile land”), Sanskrit पीवरी (pīvarī, “fat”).
Pronunciation
English; dialect unspecified: /ˈaɪɹɪʃ/
Regional pronunciation variants
- English; dialect unspecified: /ˈaɪəɹɪʃ/
- weak vowel merger: /ˈaɪɹəʃ/
Popularity
Irish ranked #13864 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Irish
Isaiah
From Ancient Greek Ἠσαΐας (Ēsaḯas) from Hebrew יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (yəšaʿyā́hū).
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Aaliyah
Popularized by American singer Aaliyah Haughton (1979-2001). Transliteration of Arabic عَالِيَة (ʕāliya).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Adah
From Hebrew עָדָה (adá, “Adah”, literally “ornament, dawn”).
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Ádhamh
From Old Irish Ádam, from Latin Ādām, Ādāmus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ, Ἄδαμος (Adám, Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (ʾāḏām, “person, human”), from אֲדָמָה (ʾăḏāmâ, “earth,…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Àdhamh
From Old Irish Ádam, from Latin Ādām, Ādāmus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ, Ἄδαμος (Adám, Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”), from אֲדָמָה…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Adolph
Variant spelling of Adolf.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends H
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Irish
Anderson
From Middle English Ander (“Andrew”) + -son, after Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. In the United States, sometimes an anglicization of Danish and Norwegian Andersen or…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Asia
From Middle English Asia, Asie, from Old French Asie and Latin Asia, from Ancient Greek Ᾰ̓σῐ́ᾱ (Ăsĭ́ā), from Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀯𐀹𐀊 (a-si-wi-ja /aswijaː/), in turn probably…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Dale
Borrowed from English Dale.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 1 syllable
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Irish
Artur
Borrowed from English Arthur, from the name of the legendary king, from Middle English Arthure, from Medieval Latin Arthurus, probably from Welsh arth, from Proto-Celtic *artos.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends R
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Asia
From Middle English Asia, Asie, from Old French Asie and Latin Asia, from Ancient Greek Ᾰ̓σῐ́ᾱ (Ăsĭ́ā), from Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀯𐀹𐀊 (a-si-wi-ja /aswijaː/), in turn probably…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Austin
From Middle English Austin, from Anglo-Norman Aostin, Austin, similar to Old French Aostin, Austin, a popular variant of Old French Agustin, from Latin Augustīnus, from…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends N
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length