There are lots of lovely Irish baby names out there that are favoured by lots of parents at home and abroad - but today we’ve decided to look to traditional Irish surnames for inspiration instead.

Passed down from one generation to the next, these versatile Irish last names not only sound lovely – they also have strong roots spanning centuries.

Looking to our nation’s surnames, we’ve rounded up 21 top picks that we believe would make for a brilliant name for your little baby boy or girl!

Irish surnames that make brilliant baby boy names:

Tobin

Meaning ‘God is good’

Rourke

Meaning ‘champion’

Sullivan

Meaning ‘dark eyes’

Boyle

Meaning ‘pledge’

Connell

Meaning ‘high and mighty’

Murphy

Meaning ‘sea warrior’

Campbell

Meaning ‘crooked’

Cullen

Meaning ‘son of the holy one’

Rowan

Meaning ‘little red-head’

Keane

Meaning ‘fighter’

Lennon

Meaning ‘sweetheart’

Irish surnames that make brilliant baby girl names:

Morgan

Meaning ‘born of the sea’

Kelly

Meaning ‘bright-headed’

Deeley

Meaning ‘dark-haired’

Fallon

Meaning ‘superior’

Reilly

Meaning ‘courageous’

Kennedy

Meaning ‘helmet-headed’

Casey

Meaning ‘watchful’

Sloan

Meaning ‘warrior’

Quinn

Meaning ‘wise’

Regan

Meaning ‘little king’

*This article was originally published on RollerCoaster.ie.