Irish spelling and sound
Irish (Gaeilge) names often look nothing like they sound to an English eye — Aoife is “EE-fuh,” Saoirse is “SEER-shuh.” The little accent (the fada) lengthens a vowel, and combinations like bh and mh soften to a “v” or “w” sound. Once you hear a name, the spelling makes sense.
Anglicised vs original forms
Many names travel in two forms — the original Irish and an anglicised spelling: Sinéad/Shinade, Séamus/Seamus, Órla/Orla. Both are “correct”; the Irish spelling simply keeps the Gaelic roots visible.
Where the meanings come from
Irish names draw on the natural world (Darragh, “oak”; Rónán, “little seal”), on legend and the great sagas (Fionn, Oisín, Deirdre), and on the early saints (Colm, Ciarán). A great many are diminutives — the ending -án or -ín adds “little.”
A modern revival
After centuries of decline, Irish-language names are booming: Fiadh, Saoirse, Cillian and Oisín now sit near the top of Ireland’s charts, and are spreading well beyond it.