Gaelic Boy Names

Gaelic boys' names come from the Irish and Scottish branches of the Celtic languages, and many of them arrived in English as clan names and surnames. Macarthur and Mackie both draw on the Gaelic prefix mac, meaning son of, and Curran and Dolan come from old Irish family names. Douglass recalls a powerful Scottish clan and comes from Gaelic words meaning dark water.

Several names here are tied to the land. Kraig comes from a Gaelic word for a rock or crag, and Cyle, Kile and Kiel from a word for a narrow strait. Elgin is the name of a town in the north of Scotland, Blain is a Scottish surname, and Keir is a short Scottish name with a crisp sound. Oran comes from the name of an early Irish saint.

Because Gaelic names were written down by English speakers in many ways, you will find several spellings for the same sound, such as Kennith and Keneth. Pick a spelling that makes your preferred pronunciation clear and that you are happy to repeat. Short choices like Keir, Oran and Kile are easy to say, while longer names like Macarthur and Douglass come with built-in nicknames for later.