If you’re looking for an Irish boy name, the latest 2024 data from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows one thing clearly: parents still love the classics, but they’re also starting to mix things up.
For the eighth year in a row, Jack is the most popular boys’ name in Ireland. It’s been a consistent favorite for nearly two decades, only losing the top spot once (to James in 2016). Simple, strong and easy to say pretty much anywhere, it’s easy to see why Jack keeps winning.
Right behind it are Noah, Rían, Cillian and James. Names like Rían and Cillian stand out if you want something that feels distinctly Irish, while Noah has a more transatlantic appeal.
James isn’t just popular now — it’s been popular for a long time. It’s the only boys’ name that ranked in the top 10 in both 1974 and 2024 giving it a rare kind of staying power.
Further down the list, Rowan, Caleb and Iarlaith all entered the top 100 in 2024. Caleb made the biggest jump, moving from 142nd place in 2023 to 91st.
"America has a long-running love affair with Irish names," Laura Wattenberg, a names expert and creator of Namerology, tells TODAY.com.
In each decade, there was often an "Irish name of the moment" for boys, Wattenberg says. In the '70s there was Brian, Sean in the '80s, Ryan in the '90s and in the 2000s, Aidan.
These trends also reflect another prominent baby-boy-naming convention over the last generations: names that end in the letter "n."
There is no clear top Irish baby boy name in the United States at the moment, Wattenberg said, but some of the contenders include Finn and Declan.
Like Irish girl names, some of the top baby boy in Ireland names are not actually Irish in origin, such as Jack and Noah, which take the top two.
137 Irish Boy Names
According to the most recent data from the Ireland Central Statistics Office, here are the top 100 Irish boy names from 2021, with pronunciation from IrishCentral.com and BabyNamesofIreland.com.
Wattenberg noted that pronunciation of these names can vary based on geography.
- Jack
- Noah
- James
- Conor
- Rían (ree-an)
- Liam
- Charlie
- Daniel
- Cillian (kill-ee-an)
- Tadhg (ty-ge)
- Michael
- Oisín (o-sheen)
- Finn
- Fionn (finn)
- Thomas
- Seán
- Darragh (darra)
- Luke
- Patrick
- Harry
- Alex
- Adam
- Cian (kee-an)
- Theo
- Oliver
- Dylan
- Jamie
- John
- Leo
- Oscar
- Ollie
- Ben
- Tom
- Bobby
- Ryan
- Tommy
- Matthew
- Max
- Callum
- Sam
- Danny
- Aaron
- Alexander
- Jake
- Alfie
- Mason
- David
- Joseph
- Jacob
- Ethan
- Kai
- Shay
- Donnacha (done-acka)
- Luca
- Sonny
- Senan (she-nawn)
- William
- Evan
- Archie
- Freddie
- Lucas
- Nathan
- Leon
- Joshua
- Hugo
- Benjamin
- Louis
- Arthur
- Billy
- Jayden
- Logan
- Theodore
- Aidan
- Rory
- Samuel
- Teddy
- Frankie
- Daithí (da-hee)
- Páidí
- Jaxon
- Odhran (orin)
- Zach
- Eoin (owen)
- George
- Robert
- Brody
- Isaac
- Shane
- Cathal (ka-hal)
- Ted
- Hunter
- Tiernan
- Sebastian
- Tadgh (tie-g)
- Andrew
- Martin
- Ronan
- Edward
- Eli
- Arlo
While outside the official top 100 list, other popular Irish boy names include:
- Rian
- Caelan
- Killian
- Dara
- Ruairí (rory)
- Paddy
- Hugh
- Lorcan
- Riley
- Cormac
- Niall
- Rowan
- Ciarán (keer-awn)
- Conn
- Caolan (keelin)
- Pádraig (paw-drig, or paw-rick)
- Brian
- Finley
- Oran
- Kieran
- Owen
- Keelan
- Kian
- Keegan
- Aiden
- Seamus
- Lennon
- larlaith
- Lochlann
- Flynn
- Carson
- Brendan
- Conan
- Colm
- Declan
- Connell
- Colin
