We are a lucky nation to have some of the most beautiful names in the world. Beautiful in meaning; beautiful in sound. Boy names and girl names are included in this statement, by the way, even though girl names are more traditionally associated with the word "beautiful."
That’s probably the reason why this Irish boy name, and a host of others, have become more popular for girls. To modern ears, they just sound more like girl names.
This article was originally published in Ireland of the Welcomes magazine. Subscribe now!
Some of the names that were originally boys’ names but now have more or equal girl bearers are:
- Naoise
- Éanna
- Dáire
Iarla is another one that we are hearing of being given to more and more girls. But it’s this name that we think people even forget was once meant for boys, not girls.
It’s Ailbhe.
This gorgeous name is pronounced al-va and can alternatively be spelled Alva, if you go down the anglicized route. It means "light" or "white" or "rock", from the Irish word ail.
One of the best-known Ailbhes in the country at the moment is probably Ailbhe Garrihy, who, as it happened, gave her three sons Irish names that are well known for boys: Sean, Fionn, and baby Cian.
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If you are a male named Ailbhe, you are in rare company, as, in 2025, there are NO records for baby boys being given the name. However, in 2025, Ailbhe ranked 50th of all baby girls recorded in Ireland, with 95 baby girls given the name.
However, four baby boys were given the name Ailbe last year, a variation of the name that is pronounced Al-bey.
It’s a similar sound to a name that you hear quite a bit in English-speaking playgrounds these days, Albie, so we think that we’ll be hearing of plenty more little Ailbes running around in the future.
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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