Rían is the most popular boys’ name in Ireland in the latest official release, and Lily is the top girls’ name. For anyone searching the Most Popular Irish Baby Names 2026 (Boys and Girls), that is the short answer.
The list people are using in 2026 is based on babies registered in 2025, published by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office on February 27, 2026. The release covers 54,345 births registered in 2025, so it is a broad national snapshot rather than a tiny swingy sample, and it shows a strong mix of traditional Irish names, shorter international favorites, and a few fast risers with very Irish spellings.
If you’re naming a baby, tracing Irish family roots, or just trying to work out how to pronounce Fiadh without starting a family argument, here’s the full picture. If you want to go wider than the current rankings, our guides to Irish first names and classic Irish names are useful next stops.
The official girls’ chart has a familiar Irish feel near the top, but there is movement. Lily takes the No. 1 spot with 302 babies registered, while Éabha and Fiadh remain firmly in the leading group.
| Rank | Name | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lily | LIL-ee | Flower name, from the lily |
| 2 | Éabha | AY-va | Irish form of Eve, commonly linked with life |
| 3 | Fiadh | FEE-ah | Often linked with wildness or deer |
| 4 | Grace | GRAYS | Grace, elegance, blessing |
| 5 | Sadie | SAY-dee | Usually a form of Sarah |
| 6 | Sophie | SO-fee | Wisdom |
| 7 | Emily | EM-uh-lee | Associated with rival or eager |
| 8 | Aoife | EE-fa | Beauty, radiance |
| 9 | Amelia | uh-MEE-lee-uh | Work, industrious |
| 10 | Ava | AY-va | Meaning varies by origin |
Fiadh remains one of the standout modern Irish choices. It has been near the very top for several years and, after topping the girls’ chart from 2021 through 2023, still feels distinct without being unusual in Ireland anymore. For American parents, it is one of those names that looks complicated for about five seconds and then seems completely manageable.
Éabha and Aoife are also good examples of what makes Irish naming trends interesting. Parents are not just picking Irish-origin names. They are often choosing the Irish-language spellings too, fadas included, which says a lot about how comfortable many families now are with names that look properly Irish on the page.
The boys’ list has shifted too. Rían moves to the top with 330 babies registered, pushing past names that had been dominant for years, including Jack.
| Rank | Name | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rían | REE-an | Meaning is debated; used as a traditional Irish name |
| 2 | Jack | JAK | Traditional form linked to John |
| 3 | Noah | NOH-ah | Rest, comfort |
| 4 | James | JAYMZ | Traditional biblical name |
| 5 | Oisín | uh-SHEEN | Little deer |
| 6 | Tadhg | TIGE | Poet or philosopher |
| 7 | Fionn | FYUN or FINN | Fair or white |
| 8 | Liam | LEE-um | Irish short form of Uilliam, often given as willing protector |
| 9 | Cillian | KIL-ee-an | Meaning is debated; linked in tradition to an early saint |
| 10 | Charlie | CHAR-lee | Free man |
Oisín, Tadhg, Fionn, and Cillian give the top 10 a strongly Irish flavor. If you’re outside Ireland, these are also the names most likely to prompt pronunciation practice. That is not a bad thing. Plenty of families see that as part of the point, especially when they want something rooted in language rather than just vaguely Celtic-looking.
There is also a neat split in the boys’ chart. Names like Jack, Noah, James, and Charlie are familiar almost anywhere in the English-speaking world. Names like Rían, Oisín, and Tadhg feel much more anchored to Ireland. If you’re also looking at family-name pairings, our roundups of common Irish surnames and older Celtic Irish surnames can help you hear how a full name sits together.
The headline change is simple: Rían and Lily are now No. 1. Earlier Irish name coverage had long centered on Jack and Sophie as the names to beat. In the latest official release, both slipped off the top spot, and Sophie dropped out of the top five girls’ names altogether.
For girls, the upper end of the chart still leans soft and short, with Lily, Éabha, Fiadh, Grace, and Sadie making up the official top five. For boys, the top five are Rían, Jack, Noah, James, and Oisín, which is a fairly balanced blend of classic and distinctly Irish.
If you like following naming cycles, this is the part where things get fun. Names that felt immovable a few years ago are not gone, just less dominant. The Irish charts do not swing wildly, but they do drift in a clear direction, and in this cycle the drift is still favoring shorter names and Irish-language forms.
The most eye-catching climber mentioned in the latest release is Naoise, which jumped 74 places to No. 88. It is one of those names that feels old, literary, and suddenly modern again. You may also see it used for more than one gender, which gives it extra flexibility for parents who want something less conventional.
Raya also made a big move, rising 114 places to No. 99. That is a sizeable jump in a chart that usually moves at a measured pace.
New boys’ entries in the top 100 include Levi, Conall, Elijah, and Teidí. New girls’ entries include Ríadh, Gracie, Arabella, Nancy, and Mabel. The mix says a lot. There is room for revived Irish names, older vintage-style English names, and international imports all at once.
For parents trying to strike a balance, Conall is one to watch. It is recognizably Irish, has a long history, and is now breaking into the wider mainstream. Ríadh sits in a similar lane on the girls’ side, though it is still much less familiar outside Ireland. Teidí is the sort of entry that also gets people talking, partly because it looks playful and partly because it will absolutely require spelling help outside Ireland.
One of the clearest trends in the 2026 baby-name conversation is the strength of Gaelic spellings. Names like Éabha, Fiadh, Aoife, Oisín, Tadhg, and Rían are not being pushed aside by simpler Anglicized forms. In many cases, they are the preferred versions.
That lines up with what a lot of families want from a name. A good Irish name can carry heritage without sounding dusty. Some are tied to mythology, some to saints, some to nature, and some simply sound lovely when spoken aloud. Irish manages to do musical and stubborn at the same time, which is not a bad trick for a naming tradition.
There is also a diaspora effect. Families in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Britain often look to Ireland’s own charts when they want a name that feels genuinely Irish rather than vaguely Celtic. The official Irish rankings give them a better sense of what people in Ireland are actually choosing. That is especially true for families narrowing down Irish Catholic names or older heritage picks that still work well on a modern birth certificate.
Not every popular Irish baby name in 2026 is new or newly revived. Some have serious staying power. Aoife remains a staple on the girls’ side. Liam, despite being globally common, still sits comfortably among the leading boys’ names in Ireland.
Fionn is another good example. It draws on Irish mythology through Fionn mac Cumhaill and has held onto modern appeal at the same time. The same goes for Oisín, which comes with a poetic, mythic feel but is not rare enough to raise eyebrows in an Irish classroom.
That balance matters to a lot of parents. Some want a name with history, but not one that feels like a history exam. The strongest Irish names often land right in that middle ground.
If you are in the U.S. and want something identifiably Irish without years of correction at the pediatrician’s office, a few names travel especially well.
Parents often overestimate how big a hurdle pronunciation will be. Children tend to sort that out faster than adults do. Grown-ups are the ones staring nervously at Tadhg like it is a tax form. Even so, if you know you will spend the next twenty years correcting every coffee order, that can wear thin.
The Central Statistics Office reported 10,336 distinct newborn names registered in 2025. That total included 4,949 boys’ names and 5,387 girls’ names, which is a useful reminder that even with strong leaders at the top, Ireland’s naming culture is not narrow.
You can see that variety in the official top-100 movements. On one end, there are compact Irish names with ancient roots. On the other, there are names like Arabella, Mabel, and Levi, which feel more international. The chart is not moving in one single direction. It is doing several things at once.
Looking back half a century makes the generational shift obvious. Names like John and Mary once dominated the Irish charts, but they no longer define the top tier. In 1975, John was the leading boys’ name and Mary still topped the girls’ list, which now feels like a completely different naming country. Other once-common names such as Brian, Paul, Derek, and Greg now appear far less often among newborns.
That does not mean those names have vanished. It just shows how naming fashion changes. Ireland’s older naming patterns often leaned heavily on family names and saints’ names. Modern parents still borrow from family, but they seem more willing to choose for sound, spelling, identity, and distinctiveness too.
If the full chart is helpful but you still want a shortlist, these are the names that stand out for different reasons.
That depends on what you want. If your goal is a name that feels authentically used in Ireland, the official rankings are a solid place to start. If you want something Irish but less common, the risers just outside the top tier are often more interesting than the No. 1 names.
Names like Naoise, Conall, and Ríadh have momentum without feeling overexposed. Meanwhile, Aoife, Fiadh, Oisín, and Tadhg have already proved they can move from niche to mainstream without losing their Irish identity. Going straight for No. 1 is perfectly fine, of course, but it does raise the odds your child will share a classroom with another Lily or Rían before too long.
The Most Popular Irish Baby Names 2026 (Boys and Girls) reflect a naming culture that is confident in its own language and wide open to outside influence at the same time. Rían and Lily lead the official chart, while Fiadh, Éabha, Aoife, Oisín, Tadhg, Fionn, and Cillian keep Irish-language naming front and center.
The biggest takeaway is not just who sits at No. 1. It is the continued strength of names that look and sound unmistakably Irish. For many families, that is exactly the appeal.
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