Irish Baby Names: Ireland’s Most Popular Names (Official List, Published 2026)

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Choosing a name is one of the first big jobs of being a parent. I know from trying to find my baby name that it is no easy task.

This page has two halves. First, the official numbers: what Irish parents actually called their babies last year, straight from the Central Statistics Office. Then the classics: the best Irish (Gaelic) names for boys and girls, with how to say them, what they mean and the stories behind them.

A word of comfort before we start. Being an Irish person, I still struggle with pronouncing these names, so don’t worry if you do as well.

Jump to:

• The most popular baby names in Ireland (official 2025 list)
• What changed this year
• Northern Ireland’s top names
• Traditional Irish girl names
• Traditional Irish boy names
• Names from Irish mythology, and their stories
• Irish saint names
• Irish names for boys and girls
• Fadas and spellings: why they matter
• Irish baby names FAQ
• More reading

The most popular baby names in Ireland (official 2025 list)

Every year the Central Statistics Office (CSO) counts every baby name registered in the Republic of Ireland. Its latest release, Irish Babies’ Names 2025, came out on 27 February 2026.

That is the newest official list, so it is the one to use if you searched for the top Irish baby names of 2026. The 2026 names won’t be counted until early 2027.

There were 54,120 births registered in 2025. Between them, those babies got 10,336 different names: 5,488 for girls and 4,848 for boys.

Here are the top 20 for each, with the number of babies and last year’s position. Where two names tie, the CSO gives them the same rank.

Top 20 boys’ names in Ireland, 2025

Rank	Name	Babies	2024 rank
1	Rían	490	3
2	Jack	475	1
3	Noah	436	2
4	James	359	5
5	Oisín	331	9
6	Fionn	321	7
7	Liam	313	8
8	Tadhg	286	6
9	Cillian	271	4
10	Leo	261	=22
11	Luca	260	24
12	Páidí	239	=22
=13	Charlie	225	10
=13	Daniel	225	11
15	Finn	220	12
=16	Conor	211	19
=16	Thomas	211	14
18	Oliver	208	27
19	Darragh	205	26
20	Adam	191	25

Top 20 girls’ names in Ireland, 2025

Rank	Name	Babies	2024 rank
1	Lily	302	6
2	Éabha	294	2
3	Fiadh	273	5
4	Grace	265	3
5	Sadie	258	9
=6	Emily	246	4
=6	Sophie	246	1
8	Olivia	224	7
9	Croía	211	16
10	Éala	209	40
11	Mia	207	10
12	Amelia	206	8
13	Isla	203	13
14	Sophia	201	19
15	Ellie	193	15
16	Lucy	179	11
=17	Ella	176	14
=17	Saoirse	176	24
19	Robyn	175	27
20	Molly	169	22

Source: CSO, Irish Babies’ Names 2025, tables VSA50 and VSA60. Republic of Ireland only.

What changed this year

The headline is Rían. It is No. 1 for the first time since the CSO series began in 1964. It has been climbing since 2018 and first reached the top five in 2021.

It is also the first name with a fada to top the list since the CSO started recording fadas in 2018. That’s a small win for the Irish language.

Rían knocked Jack off the top. Jack had been No. 1 every year since 2007, except 2016, when James took it.

For girls, Lily is No. 1 for the first time since the CSO series began in 1964. It took off in 1997, when 15 girls got the name. It first reached the top 10 in 2011, slipped back, and returned in 2021.

Sophie was top in 2024 and Grace in 2023. Sophie is now joint sixth, its first year outside the top five since 2008. Sadie made the top five for the first time.

Look down both lists and you’ll see how strong Irish names are right now. Seven of the top 20 boys’ names are Irish: Rían, Oisín, Fionn, Tadhg, Cillian, Páidí and Darragh. Conor counts too if you allow the anglicised spelling.

For girls, Éabha, Fiadh, Croía, Éala and Saoirse all made the top 20. Éala jumped 30 places, from 40th to 10th.

New names in the top 100

• Boys: Levi, Dáire, Naoise, Conall, Elijah and Teidí. Naoise was the fastest riser, from 162nd to 88th.
• Girls: Ríadh, Gracie, Mabel, Arabella, Nancy and Raya. Raya leapt from 213th to 99th.

County picks and parents’ nationality

Leo was top in Fingal. Liam led in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Kildare. Fionn was top in Westmeath, and Croía was the girls’ favourite in Kerry.

Éabha was the top girls’ name across Munster. Ayla was top in Limerick City.

Where both parents were Irish, the favourites were Rían and Éabha. Parents from the newer EU countries, such as Poland and Romania, chose David and Olivia most often. Parents from outside the EU and UK chose Muhammad and Hannah. UK parents’ top girls’ name was Florence.

Fifty years ago

In 1975 the top boys’ names were John, Michael, David, Patrick and Paul. John is now 29th.

Mary was the top girls’ name in 1975. In 2025 just 41 girls were called Mary, putting it 112th. The CSO says that’s only the fourth time in 50 years it has fallen out of the top 100.

Most common surnames

The CSO counts surnames too. The most common for babies in 2025 were Murphy (557), Kelly (455) and O’Brien (354), then Walsh and Byrne. If yours is on that list, my guide to Irish surnames explains where it came from.

Northern Ireland’s top names (NISRA, 2025)

The CSO list covers the Republic only. Northern Ireland has its own count, run by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Its 2025 names came out on 16 April 2026.

NISRA strips out fadas when it counts names, so Oisín appears as Oisin and Méabh as Meabh.

Rank	Boys (NI)	Babies	Girls (NI)	Babies
1	Noah	170	Grace	127
2	Jack	150	Fiadh	105
3	James	135	Olivia	101
4	Charlie	123	Isla	97
5	Leo	115	Lily	96
6	Oisin	108	Emily	94
7	Theo	106	Annie	91
8	Luca	104	Aoife	85
=9	Arthur	101	Meabh	81
=9	Jude	101	Freya	78

Source: NISRA, Baby Names 2025 press release, 16 April 2026. Northern Ireland only. Arthur and Jude are joint ninth on 101; the girls’ ranks run 9 and 10.

Grace is No. 1 for the second year running, and it also held the top spot from 2018 to 2022. Noah is back on top, as it was in 2018 (jointly) and 2023.

Arthur made the top 10 for the first time since NISRA’s records began in 1997. Meabh made it for the first time too. Naoise was among the biggest climbers for boys.

Traditional Irish girl names

Now for the classics. These are the classic Irish girls’ names that come up most.

The “say it” column is an approximate guide in plain English. Irish has three main dialects, so you’ll hear some names said differently in Donegal, Connemara and Kerry. None of them is wrong.

Meanings come from Rev. Patrick Woulfe’s Irish Names and Surnames (1923) and the Ó Dónaill Irish dictionary, where they give one. Where nobody really knows, I’ve said so. Plenty of baby-name websites will happily invent a meaning for you.

Name	Say it	Meaning	Origin
Saoirse	SEER-sha	“Freedom”	Modern first name; the CSO first records it in 1971
Aoife	EE-fa	Uncertain; Woulfe calls it “an ancient Irish name”	Early Irish
Niamh	NEEV	“Brightness, lustre”	Mythology; popular as a first name in the 20th century
Caoimhe	KEE-va (KWEE-va in Ulster)	“Gentleness, beauty, grace”	Early Irish; a saint’s name
Siobhán	shiv-AWN	Feminine of John	Norman French Jehanne, brought by the Anglo-Normans
Róisín	roe-SHEEN	“Little rose”	Pet form of Róis (Rose)
Gráinne	GRAWN-ya	Uncertain	Mythology (Diarmuid and Gráinne)
Sadhbh	SIVE (rhymes with five)	“Goodness”	Early Irish
Clodagh	CLO-da	Uncertain; often linked to the River Clodiagh	Modern first name
Méabh	MAYV	Name of the Queen of Connacht	Mythology (the Táin)
Fionnuala (Nuala)	fin-OO-la	“Fair shoulder”	Early Irish; shortened to Nuala
Orla	OR-la	“The golden lady”	From Órfhlaith
Sorcha	SUR-ra-ha or SUR-ka	“Clear, bright”	Early Irish
Muireann	MWIR-in	“Of the long hair”	Early Irish
Éabha	AY-va	Irish form of Eve	Biblical, in Irish dress
Fiadh	FEE-a	Linked to fia or fiadh, “deer”, or “wild”	Modern first name
Éala	AY-la	From eala, “swan”	Modern first name
Croía	KREE-a	Usually linked to croí, “heart”	Very new; first recorded (as Croia) in 2010

Deirdre peaked at 613 babies in 1966. Siobhan hit 401 in 1971. Sinead reached 825 in 1975, Niamh 719 in 1993 and Aoife 727 in 1997.

Today Saoirse (176), Róisín (135), Caoimhe (130), Sadhbh (129) and Aoife (121) all sit inside the top 40. Siobhán has nearly vanished, with just seven babies in 2025. Give it 30 years and it’ll be back as a “vintage” pick.

For more girls’ names and a proper pronunciation guide, see my Irish girl names with pronunciation.

Traditional Irish boy names

The boys’ side is where Irish names are strongest right now. Five of the top 10 in 2025 are Irish.

Watch out for some popular “meanings” online. Liam isn’t an old Irish warrior name. It’s short for Uilliam, the Irish form of William. Ruairí doesn’t mean “red king” either. Woulfe traces it to the Norse Rothrekr, “fame-ruler”, brought here by the Vikings.

Name	Say it	Meaning	Origin
Rían	REE-an	Usually linked to rí, “king”, so “little king”	Irish; meaning not firmly sourced
Oisín	ush-EEN or osh-EEN	“Little deer”	Mythology; son of Fionn
Fionn	FYUN or FINN	“Fair, white”	Mythology; Fionn mac Cumhaill
Tadhg	TIGE (like tiger without the r)	“Poet” or “philosopher”	Early Irish
Cillian	KILL-ee-an	Pet form of Ceallach	Saint; martyred at Würzburg around 689
Páidí	PAW-dee	Widely taken as a pet form of Pádraig	Irish
Darragh	DAR-a	Usually linked to dair, “oak”	Irish
Ruairí	ROR-ee	“Fame-ruler”	Norse, via the Vikings
Cathal	KA-hal	“Battle-mighty”	Early Irish
Pádraig	PAW-drig	“Noble”	Latin Patricius; St Patrick
Seán	SHAWN	John	Irish form of John, via Norman French
Eoin	OH-in	John	Older Irish form of John
Eoghan	OH-in	“Well-born”	Early Irish; a different name from Eoin
Diarmuid	DEER-mid	“A freeman”, per Woulfe	Mythology (Diarmuid and Gráinne)
Cian	KEE-an	“Ancient”	Early Irish
Ciarán	KEER-awn	From ciar, “black” or “dark”	Early Irish; several saints
Cormac	COR-mac	“Charioteer”	Early Irish
Donnacha	DUN-a-ha	“Brown warrior” or “strong warrior”	Early Irish (Donnchadh)
Conor	CON-or	“High will” or “desire”	Anglicised Conchobhar
Rónán	ROE-nawn	“Little seal”	Early Irish
Lorcán	LUR-kawn	“Little fierce one”	St Laurence O’Toole
Senan	SEN-an	From sean, “old, wise”	Early Irish (Seanán)
Aodh	AY (EE in the north)	“Fire”	Early Irish; often anglicised as Hugh

Some of these were huge a generation ago. Kevin peaked at 639 babies in 1986. Conor hit 867 in 1997, and Sean reached 994 in 2006. Cillian and Darragh both peaked in 2007, and Oisin (counted without the fada back then) in 2008.

Aodh is the one I’d watch. It’s one of the oldest names in Ireland, yet only three boys got it in 2025. Perhaps parents fear a lifetime of spelling it out on the phone.

Names from Irish mythology, and their stories

Plenty of Irish names come straight out of the old tales. Some of them don’t end well.

Fionn and Oisín

Fionn mac Cumhaill led the Fianna, a band of warriors and hunters. Britannica notes that he earned the name Finn, “the Fair”.

His son Oisín was the poet of the Fianna. In the best-known tale, a fairy woman lures him away to Tír na nÓg, the land of youth. When he comes home, he finds 300 years have passed.

Niamh

In later tellings of the Oisín story, the woman who carries him off is Niamh Chinn Óir, “golden-haired Niamh”. That version is generally traced to an 18th-century poem by Mícheál Coimín. The name itself means “brightness” in Irish.

Deirdre and Naoise

Deirdre is the great tragedy of Irish legend. Britannica tells it like this. A druid foretold at her birth that many men would die because of her.

King Conor of Ulster wanted her, but she loved Naoise, son of Usnech. They fled to Scotland, were lured home, and Naoise and his brothers were killed. Deirdre took her own life.

The story was first composed around the 8th or 9th century. Yeats and Synge both turned it into plays.

Deirdre was a big name in 1960s Ireland, but fewer than three girls got it in 2025. Naoise, meanwhile, is flying. Make of that what you will.

Diarmuid and Gráinne

Gráinne was promised to Fionn, by then an old man. Instead she ran off with the young warrior Diarmuid. Fionn hunted them across Ireland for years.

Peace was eventually made, but long after, Diarmuid was wounded on a boar hunt. Fionn could have saved him with a drink of water, but he let him die. Lovely name, though.

Étaín

Étaín’s tale, Tochmarc Étaíne (The Wooing of Étaín), survives in Lebor na hUidre, the Book of the Dun Cow, written around 1100. The story itself is older. A jealous wife turns Étaín into water, then a fly.

A woman swallows the fly, and Étaín is born again. Midir, who loved her in her first life, later tries to win her back from King Eochaid Airem. Étaín is lovely, rare and very hard to beat for a story.

Cú Chulainn: a nickname warning

Cú Chulainn is the greatest hero of the Ulster tales. According to Britannica, he was born Setanta (Sétanta in older spellings) and defended Ulster alone at 17 against Queen Medb’s army.

In legend he got his famous name by killing the guard dog of a smith called Culann. He offered to take its place, so he became Cú Chulainn, “Culann’s hound”.

So you’d be naming your son “the dog”. In the legend he also died at 27. Unsurprisingly, Cú Chulainn doesn’t appear in the CSO tables at all. Setanta does, with 15 boys in 2025, and that’s the sensible way to honour him.

Irish saint names

Saints’ names were the backbone of Irish naming for centuries.

Name	Say it	Meaning	The saint
Brigid / Bríd	BRIJ-id / BREEJ	Probably from brígh, “strength”	St Brigid of Kildare, feast day 1 February
Patrick / Pádraig	PAW-drig	“Noble”	Patron saint and national apostle of Ireland
Colm	KUL-um	“Dove”	St Colm Cille (Columba), feast day 9 June
Kevin / Caoimhín	KEV-in / KEE-veen	“Comely birth”	St Kevin of Glendalough, died around 618
Brendan / Breanainn	BREN-dan	Meaning uncertain	St Brendan the Navigator, founder of Clonfert

Brigid. By tradition she was born around 450 at Faughart, near Dundalk, and founded a double monastery at Kildare. She is one of Ireland’s three patron saints, with Patrick and Colm Cille.

Since 2023 Ireland has had a public holiday in her honour, on the first Monday in February, or on 1 February when that falls on a Friday. It’s widely described as the first Irish public holiday named after a woman. Oddly, only six baby girls were named Brigid in 2025, with ten more called Bríd.

Patrick. Still going strong, with 183 Patricks in 2025, plus 26 Pádraigs. Count Páidí (239) as well, and the old saint is doing rather well.

Colm. Colm Cille means “dove of the church”. By tradition he founded Derry and Durrow, then sailed to Iona around 563 with 12 companions.

Kevin. St Kevin founded Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains and is a patron of Dublin. His legends paint him as a protector of animals.

Brendan. He founded Clonfert in Co. Galway around 561. He’s best known for the voyage told in the Navigatio. Some believe the voyage reached North America, but there is no proof. I’ve written more about St Brendan the Navigator.

Irish names for boys and girls

A few Irish names work for either. The CSO counts boys and girls separately, so here’s how they split in 2025.

Name	Say it	Meaning	Boys / girls, 2025
Naoise	NEE-sha	Uncertain; the hero of the Deirdre story	65 / 39
Dara	DAR-a	Linked to dair, “oak”	52 / 11
Dáire	DAW-ra	Woulfe: “an old Irish name”	65 / 5
Rowan	ROE-an	Anglicised form of Ruadhán, from ruadh, “red” (Woulfe)	78 / 16
Quinn	KWIN	From the Irish surname Ó Cuinn	4 / 27

Ailbhe (AL-va) is another interesting case. It’s firmly a girls’ name now, with 95 girls in 2025. But the old saint of the name, Ailbe of Emly, is usually described as a man.

Fadas and spellings: why they matter

The fada is the accent mark on Irish vowels, as in Seán or Róisín. It changes the sound, and sometimes the meaning.

Since 2018 the CSO has counted spellings with and without a fada as different names. That’s why Seán is joint 23rd (185 boys) while Sean is 141st (38 boys). Put together, they’d be in the top 20.

Some computer systems abroad still struggle with fadas. Your child may spend years correcting forms, airline tickets and school rolls. Plenty of Irish families decide that’s a fair price for getting the name right.

Spelling is the other trap. Fionn and Finn are counted separately, and so are Ruairí (85), Ruaidhrí (7) and Rory (93). Add them together and Fionn/Finn (541) would beat Rían (490) for No. 1. If you’re comparing a name’s popularity, check all the spellings.

Irish baby names FAQ

What is the most popular baby name in Ireland?

Rían for boys (490 babies) and Lily for girls (302), according to the CSO’s 2025 figures, published in February 2026. Both are No. 1 for the first time since the CSO’s records began in 1964.

What were the top Irish baby names in 2024?

Jack and Sophie. Jack had been the top boys’ name every year since 2007, apart from 2016. In 2025 Jack slipped to second and Sophie to joint sixth.

What are the most popular Irish (Gaelic) names right now?

For boys: Rían, Oisín, Fionn, Tadhg, Cillian, Páidí and Darragh, all in the 2025 top 20. For girls: Éabha, Fiadh, Croía, Éala and Saoirse.

How do you pronounce Saoirse, Caoimhe, Niamh and Sadhbh?

Roughly SEER-sha, KEE-va, NEEV and SIVE (to rhyme with five). Caoimhe is often KWEE-va in Ulster.

Is Cú Chulainn a good baby name?

Probably not. It means “Culann’s hound”, and in the legend the hero died at 27. His childhood name, Setanta, is the usual choice instead, and 15 boys got it in 2025.

More reading

• Irish Girl Names and How to Pronounce Them
• Irish Surnames and Their Meanings
• St Brendan the Navigator
• English Words That Come From Irish
• Facts About Ireland
• The Claddagh Ring and Its Meaning

Whatever you choose, I hope this helps you narrow it down. And if your family can’t pronounce it at the christening, you’re in good company.

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