Saoirse

Niamh

Old Irish · “Derived from the Old Irish word "niamh" meaning "bright" or "radiant". The name belongs to one of the most celebrated figures of Irish mythology, Niamh of the Golden Hair, a princess of Tír na nÓg (the Land of Eternal Youth) who fell in love with the poet-warrior Oisín and carried him away on her white horse across the sea.”

Aoife

Old Irish · “Derived from the Old Irish "Aífe", itself from the word "oíph" meaning "beauty" (modern Irish "aoibh"). This ancient Irish name has been borne by several legendary figures, most notably a fierce warrior woman who engaged in single combat with the hero Cúchulainn, and a jealous queen in the tale of the Children of Lir who transformed her stepchildren into swans.”

Caoimhe

Irish · “Derived from the Irish word "caomh" meaning "gentle", "beautiful", or "precious". The name has been used in Ireland since the early medieval period and is associated with warmth, kindness, and quiet inner beauty. Several Irish saints bore forms of this name, reflecting its long tradition within Irish Christian culture.”

Brigid

Old Irish · “Derived from the Old Irish "Brigit" or "Bríg", meaning "exalted one" or "the high one", from a Proto-Celtic root "briganti" meaning "high, lofty, the exalted one". Brigid was one of the most important goddesses of pre-Christian Ireland, associated with poetry, healing, smithcraft, and the hearth fire. The Christianised Saint Brigid of Kildare (c. 451–525) became one of Ireland's three patron saints.”

Grainne

Old Irish · “Possibly derived from the Old Irish "grán" meaning "grain" or "gráin" meaning "hatred" or "terror", though the exact etymology remains debated. In Irish legend, Gráinne is the passionate, wilful daughter of the High King Cormac mac Airt who refuses her arranged marriage to the aging hero Fionn mac Cumhaill and flees with the young warrior Diarmuid — one of Ireland's great romantic epics.”

Eileen

“An anglicised form of the Irish "Eibhlín", which is itself an Irish adaptation of the Norman French "Aveline" or Old High German "Avelin", possibly meaning "wished-for child". Eibhlín entered Ireland with the Normans in the twelfth century and became fully naturalised, achieving a special place in Irish-language poetry — the lament "Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire" features an Eibhlín whose grief became one of the great poems of the Irish oral tradition.”

Shane

“An Ulster Irish anglicisation of Seán, itself the Irish form of John from the Hebrew Yohanan meaning "God is gracious". Shane was the form of the name used by the O'Neill clan of Ulster, most notably Seán an Díomais — "Shane the Proud" — Shane O'Neill (c. 1530–1567), the ferocious chieftain who dominated Ulster and defied both the English Crown and rival Irish clans, earning a reputation as one of the most unruly rulers in sixteenth-century Ireland.”

Caitlin

“The Irish form of Catherine, which entered Ireland from the Norman French "Cateline", itself from the Latin "Katharina" and Greek "Aikaterinē". Caitlín became fully naturalised in Ireland and is treated as a native name. It was famously borne by Caitlin Thomas, the Welsh wife of Dylan Thomas, whose memoir "Leftover Life to Kill" became a celebrated document of artistic grief and survival.”

Máire

“The Irish form of Mary, from the Latin "Maria" and Hebrew "Miryam", of debated meaning — possibly "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", or "their beloved". Máire is distinct from the English Mary in its Irish Gaelic form and was deliberately avoided as a given name in early Christian Ireland out of reverence for the Virgin Mary, which paradoxically led to it becoming one of the most common Irish women's names once that tradition relaxed in the post-medieval period.”

Saoirse

“From the Modern Irish "saoirse" meaning "freedom" or "liberty". Saoirse emerged as a given name in twentieth-century Ireland, part of a broader cultural movement to use Irish words of political and cultural significance as personal names. The name carries an obvious resonance with Irish nationalism and the struggle for independence, and has gained international recognition through the actress Saoirse Ronan.”

Oonagh

“Possibly an Irish form connected to "Una" or "Oonagh", from Old Irish "uan" meaning "lamb" or possibly from a root meaning "unity" or "one". In Irish mythology and folklore, Áine/Oonagh appears as a fairy queen — Oonagh was the queen of the fairies in many folk traditions, the wife of Fionnbarra, king of the Irish fairies, renowned for her golden hair that reached the ground.”