MEANING: These are recent spellings of the name Caitlin.

MEANING: caol ”slender” and fionn ”white, fair, pure.” Several saints were Caoilainn and one was described as “a pious lady who quickly won the esteem and affection of her sister nuns by her exactness to every duty, as also by her sweet temper, gentle, confiding disposition and unaffected piety.”

MEANING: From the Gaelic cara + the diminutive -in meaning “little friend or little beloved.” Caireann Chasdubh (“Cairenn of the Dark Curly Hair”) was the mother of the legendary warrior Niall of the Nine Hostages (read the legend) and thus was the maternal ancestor of the high kings of Ireland.

MEANING: Devotion to St. Catherine came to Ireland with Christianity. Revered for her courage and purity, Catherine in the Irish form, Cathleen, became such a popular name that W. B. Yeats chose it for the heroine of his 1899 play “The Countess Cathleen” which was inspired by an Irish folktale. In a time of famine the Devil offers food to the starving poor in exchange for their souls. But Cathleen convinces Satan to take her soul instead. When she dies the Devil comes to collect her soul but God intervenes and carries Cathleen to heaven, saying that “such a sacrificial act cannot justly lead to evil consequences.”

MEANING: The word cadhla means beautiful and implies “a beauty that only poetry can capture.”

MEANING: caol ”slender” and fionn ”white, fair, pure.” Several saints were Caoilainn and one was described as “a pious lady who quickly won the esteem and affection of her sister nuns by her exactness to every duty, as also by her sweet temper, gentle, confiding disposition and unaffected piety.”

MEANING: The feminine form of Ciaran, from the Irish ciar meaning “dark” and implies “dark hair and brown eyes.” St. Ciara was a distinguished seventh-century figure who established a monastery at Kilkeary in County Tipperary. It was the fourth most popular baby girl name in Ireland in 2003.

MEANING: From caomh ”gentle, beautiful, precious.” The same root as Kevin, the name has become very popular in Ireland with the original Irish spelling. In 2003 it was the twelfth most popular Irish girl name for baby girls.

MEANING: The feminine form of Ciaran, from the Irish ciar meaning “dark” and implies “dark hair and brown eyes.” St. Ciara was a distinguished seventh-century figure who established a monastery at Kilkeary in County Tipperary. It was the fourth most popular baby girl name in Ireland in 2003.

MEANING: ciar means “dark” and probably implies “dark hair and brown eyes.” County Kerry means “the land of the descendant of Ciar” who was the love-child of the High King Fergus Mac Roth and the legendary Queen Maebh.

MEANING: From caomh ”gentle, beautiful, precious.” The same root as Kevin, the name has become very popular in Ireland with the original Irish spelling. In 2003 it was the twelfth most popular Irish girl name for baby girls.

MEANING: The feminine form of Ciaran, from the Irish ciar meaning “dark” and implies “dark hair and brown eyes.” St. Ciara was a distinguished seventh-century figure who established a monastery at Kilkeary in County Tipperary. It was the fourth most popular baby girl name in Ireland in 2003.

MEANING: From cion “love, affection, esteem.”