Delaney

Delaney is an Irish surname that stepped into the front row. From the Gaelic Ó Dubhshláine, "descendant of the challenger," it first took hold as a girl's name in the United States in the 1990s and climbed into the top 200 by the 2000s. Three syllables with a lilt built in, it carries that specifically American affection for Irish-sounding names that aren't quite Irish first names at all. The sound is breezy and open, a little windswept. Delaney feels like a heroine in a coastal novel, one who sails and argues and keeps her own counsel.