Irish Names Starting with C

Cadhla comes from a literary Irish word meaning “beautiful,” also glossed as “comely” or “graceful.”

No. 89 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 55 baby girls.

Caireann is an old Irish name borne in legend by Cairenn Chasdub, the mother of Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2010.

Caitlín is an Irish form of Catherine, taken from the Old French Cateline.

No. 247 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 17 baby girls.

Caoilainn is an Irish name made up of caol, “slender,” and fionn, “fair,” the same two words that form the name Caoilfhionn.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2019.

Caoimhe is an Irish name that Woulfe (1923) explains as meaning “gentleness, beauty, grace, courtesy.”

No. 31 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 130 baby girls.

Cara comes from the Irish word cara, “friend.”

No. 52 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 94 baby girls.

Cassidy comes from the Irish surname Ó Caiside, meaning “descendant of Caiside,” and Caiside was itself a given name meaning “curly-haired.”

No. 718 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 4 baby girls.

Catherine in Irish is Caitlin, pronounced KOIT-leen.

No. 273 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 15 baby girls.

Catriona is a spelling of the Irish Caitríona and the Scottish Gaelic Catrìona, the Gaelic forms of Catherine.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2024.

Chevonne in Irish is Siobhan, pronounced shiv-AWN, meaning “God is gracious.”

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby girls a year get the name.

Ciara is an Irish name from ciar, “dark,” a word Ó Dónaill’s dictionary defines as dark or swarthy in colour or complexion.

No. 106 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 44 baby girls.

Claire is the French form of Clara, from the Latin name Clarus, “clear, bright, famous.”

No. 352 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 11 baby girls.

Clíona is a form of Clíodhna, the name of a fairy queen in Irish legend; the meaning of the name itself is unknown. Other spellings include Clídna and the anglicised Cleena.

No. 273 for girls in Ireland in 2025 (spelled Clíodhna), with 15 baby girls.

Cloda is another spelling of Clodagh, pronounced CLO-da.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2021.

Clodagh is an Irish girl’s name taken from the Clodiagh (An Chlóideach), a small river in County Waterford.

No. 47 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 100 baby girls.

Colleen comes from the Irish word cailín, “girl” or “young unmarried woman,” a diminutive of caile, “woman, countrywoman.” In Irish, cailín is grammatically a masculine noun.

No. 718 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 4 baby girls.

Croía comes from croí, the Irish word for “heart.” It is a new name rather than an old one.

No. 9 for girls in Ireland in 2025, with 211 baby girls.

Cabhán is an Irish word meaning “hollow,” and An Cabhán is the Irish name of Cavan, the Ulster county and its county town.

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Canice is the English form of the Irish name Cainneach, later Coinneach.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2015.

Caolán comes from caol “slender, narrow” with the diminutive -án, so “slender one.”

No. 132 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 41 baby boys.

Carney comes mainly from the Irish surname Ó Cearnaigh, “descendant of Cearnach,” a personal name meaning “victorious.”

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Carrick comes from the Irish carraig, “rock.” It is best known as a place-name element, as in Carrickfergus (Carraig Fhearghais, “Fergus’s rock”) and Carrick-on-Suir (Carraig na Siúire).

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Carroll in Irish is Cearul, pronounced KAR-ul, meaning “sharp, cutting.”

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 1979.

Cathal is an old Irish name made of two Celtic elements, cath, “battle,” and val, “rule,” so it is read as “battle ruler.”

No. 90 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 64 baby boys.

Cearul is a simplified spelling of Cearbhall, from the Old Irish Cerball, probably from cerb “sharp, cutting.” It was once a common Irish name and was borne by several medieval kings.

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Charles in Irish is Cathal, pronounced KA-hal, meaning “battle ruler.”

No. 188 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 25 baby boys.

Cian is an old Irish name meaning “ancient” or “enduring,” borne by figures of Irish myth and history.

No. 33 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 142 baby boys.

Ciaran, in Irish Ciarán, is an old name formed from ciar, “dark” or “black,” with a diminutive ending, so it means “little dark one.” Its English form is Kieran.

No. 149 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 35 baby boys.

Cillian is an Irish name whose origin is not certain. It most likely comes from Old Irish cell, “church,” with a diminutive ending, giving “little church.”

No. 9 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 271 baby boys.

Clearie is a spelling of Cleary, from the Irish surname Ó Cléirigh, “descendant of Cléireach.” Cléireach means “clerk” or “cleric,” a churchman and, by extension, a scholar.

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Clooney is an Irish surname used as a first name. It is an anglicized form of Ó Cluanaigh, “descendant of Cluanach,” an old surname of South Leinster.

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Coilín is a variant of the old Irish name Coileán, which means “whelp.” In modern Irish coileán means a pup or cub, and also a youth.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2018.

Colin in Irish is Coilin, pronounced KOH-lin, meaning “whelp, pup.”

No. 348 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 11 baby boys.

Colm is an old Irish name meaning “dove.” Like its variant Colum, it comes from the Latin columba, “dove,” and colm is also the Irish word for a dove or pigeon.

No. 286 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 15 baby boys.

Colman, in Irish Colmán, is an old Irish name meaning “little dove.” It is a diminutive of colm, “dove,” the word behind the name Colm.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2023.

Conall is an ancient Irish name, anglicised Connell, whose exact meaning is debated. Patrick Woulfe, writing in 1923, traced it to an early Celtic form meaning “high-mighty.”

No. 97 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 59 baby boys.

Conan, in Irish Conán, is an old Irish name meaning “little hound” or “little wolf.” It is formed from cú “hound, wolf” with a diminutive ending.

No. 232 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 20 baby boys.

Conchobhar is the old Irish name behind Conor and Connor.

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Conlaoch is a variant of Connla, from the Old Irish Conláech, a name made from cú “hound, dog, wolf” and láech “warrior.”

Rare in Ireland: fewer than three baby boys a year get the name.

Connell in Irish is Conall, pronounced KUN-al.

No. 829 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby boys.

Connor in Irish is Conchobhar, pronounced CON-r, meaning “lover of hounds.”

No. 829 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 3 baby boys.

Conor in Irish is Conchobhar, pronounced CON-r, meaning “lover of hounds.”

No. 16 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 211 baby boys.

Cormac is an ancient Irish name from the Old Irish Corbmac, and its meaning is uncertain.

No. 141 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 38 baby boys.

The closest Irish name to Craig is Carrick, meaning “rock.” Carrick is said KAR-ik.

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2023.

Cronan, in Irish Crónán, is an old Irish name formed as a diminutive of crón, so it means roughly “little dark-brown one.”

Not in Ireland's 2025 tables (fewer than three babies); last recorded in 2006.

Cúan comes from cú “hound, wolf” with the diminutive -án, so “little hound” or “little wolf.” Written Cuan, without a fada, it is also the everyday Irish word for a harbor or haven.

No. 135 for boys in Ireland in 2025, with 40 baby boys.