There are some Irish girls’ names that US parents are naming their kids that are not really on the radar of Irish mums and dads.
We love Irish girls’ names in Ireland (and boys’!); that should go without saying. We’ve always had a grá for them, but different generations favour different names.
Millennial mums with Irish girls’ names are typically called Aoife, Siobhan, Sinead, and Niamh. Women with Irish names who are now grandmothers may be called Fionnuala and Cáit. These days, the most popular Irish girls’ names given to baby cailíns are Fiadh, Éabha, and Croía.
Irish girls’ names are not just popular in Ireland. However, given the difficulty people unfamiliar with Irish spellings and pronunciations have, the names parents choose for their little girls who are based outside Ireland are more Irish-inspired than anything.
There are exceptions, obviously. My Canadian cousin is called Niamh, and my school friend from Galway, who now lives in London, has a daughter called Áine. Both gorgeous, classic, Irish names. But they won’t mind me saying that having those names in a country where they are not a bit common is not always a walk in the park.
The most popular ‘Irish names’ for girls in the US in the last century were Erin, Shannon, and Kelly, names that became so popular we’ve almost forgotten they’re Irish.
Those names are considered passé, now, and apparently, the generation of Erins and Kellys (and, we suppose, Ryans and Seans) are thinking of other ways to honour their Irish heritage with names that won’t confuse the rest of the class, or workplace.
(It’s worth saying that English-speaking countries like the US – and Ireland – which are made up of diverse communities, should really respect the spelling and pronunciation of names from different cultures. But, unfortunately, it can be hard for some people to accept names that don’t sound ‘English.')
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So, the Erins and Ryans are getting creative. According to Good Housekeeping, the ‘red hot’ Irish names for girls are gender-neutral last names being used as first names. Sophie Kihm, a naming expert, told the publication that the names Fallon, Lennon, Collins, Darcy, and Sloane are getting extremely popular among US parents.
While some of these names have entered the naming sphere in Ireland – I know a couple of baby Sloanes, for instance, and Darcy is not exactly out there – Collins? We’re not sure about that.
The names aren’t exactly unusual; Lauren Arthurs called her first daughter a version of the name Fallon (she chose the alternative spelling Fallyn), and Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit named the son they share Lennon (after John). But they are anomalies for now. For now! Trends like this tend to cross over, and parents in the US are not the only ones keen to give their kid a ‘unique’ name.
Sophie Kihn also noted that some Irish names with Irish spellings have broken through into the mainstream in the US, thanks to their rise in familiarity through popular culture. Maeve is the ‘stand out Irish name‘, she says, expecting it to make the US Top 100 name list soon. Others are Saoirse, which entered the zeitgeist thanks to Ms. Ronan, and Siobhan, which was popularised by the character in Succession.
Surnames as first names are nothing new in Ireland; we have our fair share of Ryans here, too, and Rians, of course. And we’re hearing of a lot of Brodys and Reillys.
The names Kennedy, Quinn, and Brennan have long been in use as first names in the US, so the new generation of parents just seems to be expanding the search. There’s nothing wrong with it. And even if Irish parents say they would ‘never’ name their daughters Murphy or Collins or Lennon today, well, we have to say never say never!
*This article was originally published on RollerCoaster.ie.