The first known mention of the place is in the writings of Ptolemy from the year 140 under the name Eblana.

The city originally consisted of a Celtic settlement called “Áth Cliath“, which means something like “hurdle ford”.

In 841, Vikings founded their own village next to it, which they called "Duibhlinn", roughly "black pool", after a body of water they used as a harbor basin at the mouth of the River Poddle into the Liffey.