If you feel like you have the luck of the Irish in finding your new dog, we’ve fetched over 350 Irish dog names that might make the perfect name for your new little leprechaun. Whether your dog’s breed ancestry harks back to the Emerald Isle, you’d like to remember a dream vacation or just like a unique dog name, these magical names fit the bill to help welcome your new dog in your family. As the Irish might say, “Is folamh fuar e teach gan bean peata!” (“It is a cold house without a pet!”)
Irish Culture
- Camogie: An Irish stick and ball game similar to lacrosse played by women.
- Claddagh: The claddagh ring, with its two hands, is often worn as a wedding ring; it originated in County Galway.
- Dara: The Dara Celtic Knot is one of the most-recognized Celtic knots; the word Dara is derived from the Celtic word for oak tree. Celtic knots have no beginning and no end.
- Emerald: Ireland is the Emerald Isle.
- Fada: Technically the síneadh fadas, this is the accent mark in Irish Gaelic.
- Harp: long a symbol of Ireland, this makes a fun one-syllable dog name
- Hurling: an Irish team sport that dates back to ancient Gaelic days
- Leprechaun: This sprite can grant you three wishes and a pot of gold if caught.
- Shamrock: the three-leaf clover represents the Holy Trinity
- Triquetra: The Triquetra is another name for the Trinity Knot, a three-pointed knot; a beautiful name for a three-legged dog.
Irish Drink Names
Just like the girl’s names above, we’ve fetched the most popular names given to Irish boys as reported by the General Register Office (GRO):
Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) tallied their database to see how many of their clients’ dogs have been named after their owners’ favorite Irish beers and whiskeys. The top 10 winners were:
- “Guinness” (413)
- “Jameson” (55)
- “Brogan” (14)
- “Caffrey” (5)
- “Smithwicks” (3)
- “Murphy Stout” (3)
- “Harp” (2)
- “Galway” (2)
- “Beamish” (2)
- “Tullemore” (1)
Irish Foods and Food Brands that Make Fun Names!
Barry: Barry’s Tea is one of the most popular local brands.
Boxty: The boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake.
Cidona: The brand of a sparkling apple drink.
Gubbeen: Gubbeen Cheese is a semi-soft cheese.
Kerrygold: a brand of Irish butter; a fun name for a golden dog!
Stew: Irish stew is the best-known dish of Ireland, and “Stewy” would certainly be a fun dog name. If you want to use the Irish name for Stew, it is Ballymaloe.
Tayto: a brand of potato chips
Famous People from Ireland
- Bono
- Colin Farrell
- Conor McGregor
- Enya
- James Joyce
- Kenneth Branagh
- Liam Neeson
- Maureen O’Hara
- Oscar Wilde
- Pierce Brosnan
- Sinéad O’Connor
- Van Morrison
Irish Surnames that make good dog names
- Barry
- Byrne
- Campbell
- Doyle
- Flynn
- Foley
- Higgins
- Kelly
- Kenny
- McCarthy
- Murray
- Murphy
- O’Brien
- O’Connor
- O’Reilly
- O’Sullivan
- Quinn
- Ryan
- Stewart
- Wilson
Irish Dog Names: Female
It’s more and more common this day for dogs to receive a “human” name–so we’ve turned to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for their list of most popular girl’s names in Ireland, both past and present:
- Ada
- Alice
- Alys
- Amelia
- Arabella
- Aria
- Arya
- Aurora
- Ava
- Ayla
- Bella
- Bonnie
- Cadi
- Charlotte
- Chloe
- Connie
- Daisy
- Delilah
- Efa
- Eira
- Eleanor
- Elena
- Eleri
- Elin
- Eliza
- Elizabeth
- Ella
- Ellie
- Elsi
- Elsie
- Emilia
- Emily
- Erin
- Esmae
- Esme
- Eva
- Evelyn
- Evie
- Ffion
- Florence
- Frankie
- Freya
- Grace
- Hallie
- Harper
- Harriet
- Holly
- Imogen
- Indie
- Isabella
- Isabelle
- Isla
- Ivy
- Jasmine
- Jessica
- Lili
- Lily
- Lola
- Lottie
- Lowri
- Lucy
- Lyla
- Mabel
- Maisie
- Mali
- Marnie
- Matilda
- Maya
- Mia
- Mila
- Millie
- Mollie
- Molly
- Myla
- Nancy
- Nansi
- Nia
- Olivia
- Orla
- Penelope
- Phoebe
- Poppy
- Róisín (pronounced roy-sheen)
- Rose
- Rosie
- Ruby
- Scarlett
- Seren
- Sienna
- Sofia
- Sophia
- Thea
- Violet
- Willow
Irish Dog Names: Male
Just like the girl’s names above, we’ve fetched the most popular names given to Irish boys as reported by the Central Statistics Office (CSO):
- Aaron
- Adam
- Adrian
- Aidan
- Aidan
- Alan
- Alex
- Alexander
- Alfie
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Archie
- Arlo
- Arthur
- Barry
- Ben
- Benjamin
- Bernard
- Billy
- Bobby
- Brendan
- Brian
- Brody
- Callum
- Cathal
- Charles
- Charlie
- Christopher
- Cian
- Ciaran
- Cillian
- Colin
- Colm
- Conor
- Cormac
- Cornelius
- Daithí
- Damian
- Damien
- Daniel
- Danny
- Darragh
- Darren
- David
- David
- Declan
- Denis
- Derek
- Dermot
- Desmond
- Diarmuid
- Donal
- Donnacha
- Dylan
- Eamon
- Eamonn
- Edward
- Eli
- Enda
- Eoin
- Eoin
- Ethan
- Eugene
- Evan
- Fergal
- Fergus
- Finbarr
- Finn
- Fintan
- Fionn
- Francis
- Frankie
- Freddie
- Garrett
- Garry
- Gary
- Gavin
- George
- Gerald
- Gerard
- Graham
- Gregory
- Harry
- Hugh
- Hugo
- Joshua
- Hunter
- Ian
- Isaac
- Jack
- Jacob
- Jake
- James
- James
- Jamie
- Jason
- Jaxon
- Jayden
- Logan
- Jeremiah
- John
- John
- Jonathan
- Joseph
- Joseph
- Justin
- Kai
- Karl
- Keith
- Kenneth
- Kevin
- Kieran
- Laurence
- Leo
- Leon
- Nathan
- Liam
- Louis
- Luca
- Lucas
- Luke
- Mark
- Martin
- Martin
- Mason
- Matthew
- Maurice
- Max
- Michael
- Neil
- Niall
- Nicholas
- Nigel
- Noah
- Noel
- Odhran
- Oisín
- Oliver
- Ollie
- Oscar
- Owen
- Padraig
- Páidí
- Patrick
- Paul
- Peter
- Philip
- Raymond
- Rían
- Richard
- Robert
- Ronan
- Rory
- Rory
- Ryan
- Sam
- Samuel
- Seamus
- Sean
- Seán
- Sebastian
- Senan
- Shane
- Shay
- Simon
- Sonny
- Stephen
- Tadgh
- Tiernan
- Tadhg
- Ted
- Teddy
- Terence
- Theo
- Theodore
- Thomas
- Timothy
- Tom
- Tommy
- Trevor
- Vincent
- Wayne
- William
- Zach
Place Names in Ireland
Baile or, in English, Bally: The word “bally” is added to many placenames in Ireland such as Ballymena ; it means homestead.
Belfast: Once home to the world’s biggest shipbuilder, the name Belfast is derived from Béal Feirste or “the sandy ford at the river mouth.” It harkens to its role at the location where the River Farset meets the River Lagan.
Cavehill: This mountain was thought to have been the inspiration for Gulliver’s Travels; author Jonathan Swift thought the mountain looked like a sleeping giant.
Coire (or Corry in English): Coire is added to many place names; it means an amphitheater-like valley.
Derry: grove
Dublin: From the Irish dubh linn or “black pool.”
Éire: Irish name for Ireland
Owen: a term added to many place names meaning river
Roe: a term added to many place names meaning red
Waterford: Home of Waterford Crystal, the city’s name is derived from a Viking term meaning “windy fjord,” referring to its role as a safe harbor for Viking sailors looking for shelter from the blustery Irish Sea.
Irish Dog Breeds
Does your dog’s breed or mix of breeds hail from Ireland?
- Glen of Imaal Terrier: The Glen of Imaal Terrier is named for a glen–or valley–in Ireland’s Wicklow Mountains.
- Irish Red and White Setter: The earliest of the Irish setters, this breed almost disappeared after World War I but was revived by Reverend Noble Huston. He returned to his home in Ballynahinch and found a few remaining Red and White Setters in Monaghan and launched his breeding program.
- Irish Setter: The Irish Setter dates back to the 1800s and was bred for “setting” or locating birds for a hunter.
- Irish Terrier: The Irish Terrier was first developed in Cork, Ireland in the 1870s.
- Irish Water Spaniel: The Irish Water Spaniel was developed in the Dublin area but it has a far more interesting mythological origin story. Tales told that it was the descendant of the Dobhar-chú or King Otter, that was described as a half-otter, half-dog being five times larger than an otter that lived in the water.
- Irish Wolfhound: References to the Irish Wolfhound go to the days of the Gaels who used them as hunting dogs and called them Cú Faoil. Cú is Gaelic for dog, Faoil for wolf.
- Kerry Beagle: Probably the oldest of the Irish breeds, the Kerry Beagle is most likely a dog descended from the dogs referred to as “gadhar” (hunting dog) in ancient texts.
- Kerry Blue Terrier: The Kerry Blue Terrier originated in County Kerry, Ireland in the 1820s.
- Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier: Like so many breeds, the exact origin of the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier is fuzzy, but legend says that the first of these dogs arrived in Ireland when he swam ashore from a sinking ship in the Spanish Armada, arriving to then breed with local dogs and produce the breed.
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Pin it to remember these Irish Dog Names!
Ireland Baby name lists contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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