While Rían was the most popular Irish name given to boys in 2023, it was only first registered as a name in 2018. That year it was ranked in 33rd place when 193 baby boys were called Rían. However, Rian, without a fada, was first registered in 1985, but to date has only reached a high of 25th in 2017.
Cillian was first registered in 1970 with three births. It has risen steadily since, hitting its current 2021-2023 peak of 9th place overall. When Cillian Murphy was born in 1976, he was one of 11 Cillians born that year, when the name was ranked in 203rd place.
Since 1964, the lowest rank that Patrick has ever received is 24th. The name has been steadily popular throughout the years. While in 19th place in 2023, Patrick claimed the No. 2 spot in 1964, 1965, 1968, and 1969. It was in 3rd place in 1966, 1967, and 1970-1974 inclusive. However, despite its enduring popularity, it has never claimed the top spot. Looking at the name Padraig, we can see that in 1964 it was in 88th place, while it reached its top ranking of 50th in both 1987 and 1992. In 2023, Padraig was ranked 436th. The CSO began to record the sineadh fada in 2018, and in that year, Pádraig, reached a rank of 180th. Its highest rank of 151st was achieved in 2022. In 2023 it was in 215th place. It’s worth noting that Paddy joined the top 100 most popular names in 2023.
While Tadhg was ranked as 7th most popular Irish boys’ name in 2023, its counterpart Tadgh fell out of the top 100 rankings in the same year.
Oisín shot into the top 5 for the first time in 2023 and was first registered with a fada in 2018, however, Oisin, without a fada, has been on the list of baby names since 1964 and reached a high of 8th in 2016.
Fionn was ranked 6th in 2023 and first registered in 1971. Fionn joined the top 10 in 2020 coming in 8th place in that year. However, it has competition in the form of Finn, which was just pipped for a top 10 place in 2023 when it reached 11th place. It was first registered in 1982 and its highest rank to date was 6th in 2020.
Cian first entered the records in 1966 and has climbed steadily ever since. It achieved a height of 6th place in both 2000 and 2001, finishing in 2023 at 29th place with 156 births.
Some of the more traditional Irish names that were on the list right from when our baby names records began in 1964, include Niall, Colm, and Ciaran. In 1964, Niall was in 47th place, just behind Colm at 45th position. Niall hit a peak in 1991 reaching 16th place, while Colm peaked in 1970 at 32nd. Neither name has ever made it the top 10. In 2023, Niall was 219th and Colm was 268th.
Ciaran was also on our list since 1964 and was consistently in the top 40 from 1980 to 2006. It dropped significantly down the rankings from 2018 when the CSO began to record the sineadh fada. There weren’t any babies born in 2022 named Ciaran, and only five in 2023. People instead chose to use the spelling Ciarán from 2018 and this spelling achieved a rank of 115th in 2023 when 49 babies were given this name.
Caelan, Paddy, Éanna, and Dáithí were the four new entrants into the top 100 boys’ names for 2023.
Caelan was the fastest rising boys’ name going up 58 places to 50th with 114 boys given that name. Interestingly, Caelan was only first registered in 2000 when seven boys were given that name and it was ranked in 250th place.
| Name | Rank 2023 | Rank 2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Rían | 4 | n/a1 |
| Oisín | 5 | n/a1 |
| Fionn | 6 | 25 |
| Tadhg | 7 | 51 |
| Liam | 8 | 18 |
| Cillian | 9 | 23 |
| Finn | 11 | 30 |
| Conor | 12 | 4 |
| Seán | 14 | n/a1 |
| Patrick | 19 | 16 |
| 1 fewer than 3 baby boys were registered with this name | ||
| Name | Rank 2023 | Rank 2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Fiadh | 2 | 82 |
| Éabha | 8 | n/a1 |
| Croía | 23 | n/a1 |
| Caoimhe | 26 | 19 |
| Saoirse | 27 | 22 |
| Cara | 27 | 40 |
| Aoife | 31 | 6 |
| Róisín | 36 | n/a1 |
| Sadhbh | 40 | 67 |
| Erin | 40 | 36 |
| 1 fewer than 3 baby girls were registered with this name | ||
The Top 10 Most Popular Irish Names Given to Girls in 2023 table was updated on 19 March 2024 due to the spelling variations of Roisín. Róisín was ranked 36 in 2023 with 127 births. Roisín was ranked 364 with 10 births. Roisin was ranked 625 with 5 births. Róisin was unranked in 2023 due to there being less than 3 births.
Fiadh is a relatively new Irish name in terms of popularity, having only first featured on the register of names in 2002. Since 2013 it has been gaining in popularity and reached the coveted No. 1 spot in 2021 when 424 girls were so named that year. A variation of the name, Fia, was first registered in 1998 and reached a peak in 2017 when 42 girls were given that name and it reached a rank of 136th.
Interestingly, Éabha entered the top five for the first and only time in 2021, and it was only first registered in 2018 when the fada was included in our data capture process. Eabha was first registered in 1990 and reached a ranked of 45th in 2016.
Croía has enjoyed the fastest rise in recent years among traditional Irish names, joining the list in 2018 at position 255, and rising to 23rd in 2023.
Saoirse was first registered in 1971. It has been climbing in popularity since 1989 and reached a peak of 12th place in 2016. In 1994, the year that Saoirse Ronan was born, a total of 70 girls were given that name. The year after her 2nd Oscar nomination for Brooklyn, the name Saoirse was the 12th most popular name for girls in Ireland.
Aoife has been on the list of names given to girls in Ireland since our records first began in 1964. It has maintained a long period of popularity and while it first joined the top 10 in 1983, it was consistently among the top 10 from 1987 to 2010, and in the top 20 from 1981 until 2019. While it attained the No. 1 spot in 2000 when 633 girls were given this name, it ranked 31st in 2023 when 148 babies were so called.
Other traditional Irish names such as Niamh which have been on the list since 1964 rose to No. 2 in 1993 – 1995 inclusive but was placed 73rd in 2023. Similarly, Deirdre reached a peak of No. 7 in 1966, 1968, 1973 and 1977 but currently doesn’t make the register of names in 2023 as only names with three or more occurrences are recorded.
Ciara, on the lists since 1964, enjoyed a 21-year period in the top ten 10 from 1985 to 2006, but fell to 95th in 2023. Whereas Aisling, which also featured on our records since 1964, only remained in the top 10 for two years between 1990 and 1992, before falling to 159th in 2023.
Cadhla and Síofra, were the new entrants to the top 100 girls’ names for 2003. Síofra was the fastest riser for the girls up 57 places to 100th.
You can explore the popularity of a name in Ireland over time using our visualisation tool. Find out how popular your own name is or the names of family and friends. See the ranking of a particular name in any year since 1964. You can also download a certificate for your name and year of birth.
| Press Office | (+353) 21 453 5000 |
|---|---|
| vitalstats@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
-- ENDS --
Popular Irish Names in Ireland
From ‘little kings’ called Rían to the ‘deer’ or ‘wild’ Fiadhs, or the ‘fair-haired’ Fionns, to Cara meaning ‘friend’, Irish names have always been popular options when it comes to choosing names for babies.
To mark St Patrick’s Day, we take a look at some of the most popular Irish names chosen for boys and girls in 2023. We provide their rank in terms of the top 100 in 2023 and see the changes in tastes when compared with 10 years’ ago.
We also look at some of the Irish names in the top 10, some of the names that joined the top 100 in 2023, and some of the Irish names that were on our lists since our records began in 1964 and have fallen out of popularity over time.
Please note the full list of the most popular Irish Baby Names in 2023 is available on our website.