Unisex Irish Surnames

I adore surname names as first names. They always feel so fresh and cool. One of my favorite parts about surname first names is they are a great and unique way to honor one or more members of your family. Since St. Patrick's Day is this month I thought it would be great to write about unisex Irish surnames. Irish surnames always seem to have a different feel to them than other surnames. I choice to do unisex names because lets face it most surnames are unisex.

Clancy

Red-Haired Warrior

As I was doing research for this blog post I noticed that the name favors boys more so than girl. I always thought that Clancy would work really nice on a girl because it reminds me a little of Claire and Nancy. The most famous Clancy out there is Tom Clancy, a novelist and video game designer. We also have a lot of fictional characters named Clancy that are males. They come from The Simpsons, The Darkest Minds trilogy, and the tv show House. Clancy can be a nickname for the name Clarence.

Connolly

Valiant  Hound/Wolf

Love, Friendship

Connolly makes a great alternative or a way to honor a Connor. As the population ages the Connors because older and more and more are having kids. Because Connolly is unisex its an easy way to name a girl after a Connor. If you have a Colleen in your family or like the name but want something that sounds more modern I think Connolly/Connelly is a great option. There are a few spellings to the name; Connolly, Connelly, or Connall.

Dempsey

Proud

Now I have seen the name Dempsey on both girls and boys equally. The last time I saw the name was while browsing Instagram when I came across a set of twin girls. One was named Dempsey and I can't remember for the life of me what the second girl's name was. I know they were adopted and just the cutest thing. Many people might think of Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy.

Flannery

Red Valour 

Flannery is another name I heard on Instagram. It was on a little girl and I thought it was so cool right away. Flannery O'Connor is a female writer who used the name before surname names were popular. Her birth name was Mary Flannery O'Connor and she had 2 novels and many other pieces of writing. In the book The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O'Roark Dowell there is a girl amend Flannery.

Gallagher 

Descendant of foreign helper 

I know many, many families with the surname Gallagher and was always so used to it in the surname spot. It took a little bit for me to see the name as a first name. The most recent place I have heard the name was from he tv show Shameless. The family are the show are named Gallagher. This is one of the names on the list I can see equally on both a girl and a boy. Gally or Ally would make cute nicknames. 

Madigan

Dog, Mastiff

Years ago I came across this name as a girls name. It was an alternative to the popular Madison and I fell in love. It wasn't until months later that I realized it was an unisex name. just like Madison. Simmone Jade Mackinnon named her son Madigan James Mackinnon and that is really the only boy I could find with the name. Madgian Shive is a female musician bearing the name.

Murphy

Sea Warrior 

I am a huge fan of The 100. One of the characters on the show goes by Murphy and I always think of him. Personality I lean toward the name on a boy but I wouldn't be opposed to see it on a girl. As a surname it is very common in Ireland. I'm sure some of you know families with the surname where you live. The one downside to the name, which I don't think many people will pick up on, is Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong will).

Rooney

Descendant of the Champion 

I just love how upbeat this name sounds. Roo or Rue is such a great nickname for this name. Rooney Mara is an actress (you can find her in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and brought light tot he name, especially for girls. If you didn't know about Rooney Mara than maybe you know about Mickey Rooney from Night at the Museum, The Fox and the Hound, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Sheridan

Searcher

One of my favorite parts about having a name instagram is being able to connect with other people who love names in an easy way. There are so many names that I was introduced to because of other names and Sheridan was one. Just recently Ianthe from Namestation featured a subset and one of the girls was named Sheridan. I fell in love right away. The beginning sound makes me think girl but the end makes me think boy.

Tierney

Descendant of a lord 

Like Madigan, Tierney is a name I loved years ago. I think go of a girl right away but it works just as well on a boy. I would even be happy to hear it on a boy. Tierney Sutton is an American female jazz singer. The original form of Tierney is Tiarnach and there are several saints with the name both male and female.