Irish girl names from mythology
Many Irish girls' names come straight from the old stories: goddesses, queens and heroines of the Mythological and Ulster Cycles. Each name below has a short tale behind it.
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Boann BOH-an
White cow
Goddess of the River Boyne and mother of Aengus by the Dagda. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Brigid BRIJ-id
Exalted one, high one
Brigid was a goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft among the Tuatha Dé Danann, later blended in tradition with Saint Brigid of Kildare. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Danu DAN-oo
Mother goddess
The shadowy mother-goddess from whom the Tuatha Dé Danann, "the people of the goddess Danu", take their name. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Deirdre DEER-dra
Uncertain, possibly sorrowful
Deirdre was a beautiful woman of Ulster who fled with Naoise, son of Uisneach, and whose story ends in tragedy at the hands of King Conchobar. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Gráinne GRAWN-ya
Uncertain, possibly grain
Betrothed to the aging Fionn mac Cumhaill, she instead flees with Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, setting off Ireland's great pursuit narrative. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Macha MAH-kha
Uncertain, possibly plain
Macha was a goddess of sovereignty and war, linked to Emain Macha, who cursed the Ulstermen after being forced to race while heavily pregnant. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Maeve MAYV
Intoxicating, she who intoxicates
Medb, anglicised as Maeve, was the warrior-queen of Connacht whose jealousy over a prize bull sets the entire Táin Bó Cúailnge in motion. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Mórrígan MOR-ee-gan
Great queen, or possibly 'phantom queen'
A goddess of war, fate, and sovereignty who appears on the battlefield as a crow and shapes the outcome of Ireland's great conflicts. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Sadhbh SIVE
Sweet, goodly
A woman transformed into a deer by a rejected druid's curse, briefly restored to human form by Fionn mac Cumhaill, and the mother of Oisín. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Scáthach SKAW-hakh
Shadowy one
The warrior-woman of Alba who trains Cú Chulainn, and in the wider tradition Ferdiad, in the arts of war. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Ériu AIR-oo
Goddess of Ireland
Ériu was a goddess of sovereignty who greeted the Milesians when they landed and requested that the island be named after her. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Étaín AY-deen
Shining one, uncertain
Étaín was a beautiful woman of the Tuatha Dé Danann, pursued by the god Midir and reborn through several forms in one of Ireland's best-loved tales. Read the story on Gods of Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
Are there Irish names from mythology?
Yes. Many Irish names come from figures in the Mythological, Ulster and Fenian cycles, such as goddesses, queens and heroes.