How popular is the baby name Holly in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Holly.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Holly


Posts that mention the name Holly

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2022

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland

The island of Ireland, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, happens to be the third-largest island in Europe (after Great Britain and Iceland).

Last year, the Republic of Ireland — which covers five-sixths of the island — welcomed over 57,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emily and Jack.

Here are Ireland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Emily, 349 baby girls
  2. Grace, 342
  3. Fiadh, 320 – pronounced FEE-a
  4. Sophie, 292
  5. Lily, 291
  6. Éabha, 271 – pronounced EY-va
  7. Ava, 269
  8. Mia, 262
  9. Ellie, 259
  10. Olivia, 258
  11. Amelia, 250 (tie)
  12. Emma, 250 (tie)
  13. Hannah, 248
  14. Ella, 240
  15. Freya, 234
  16. Lucy, 232
  17. Isla, 228
  18. Saoirse, 212 – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha
  19. Millie, 206
  20. Sadie, 201
  21. Sophia, 200
  22. Molly, 195
  23. Chloe, 191
  24. Caoimhe, 190 – pronounced KEE-va or KWEE-va
  25. Anna, 186
  26. Evie, 181
  27. Isabelle, 178
  28. Robyn, 177
  29. Alice, 160
  30. Aoife, 158 – pronounced EE-fa
  31. Róisín, 157 – pronounced ROH-sheen
  32. Sadhbh, 153 – pronounced siev (rhymes with the number “five”).
  33. Cara, 152
  34. Katie, 151
  35. Erin, 150
  36. Kate, 147
  37. Willow, 145
  38. Croía, 140 (3-way tie) – pronounced KREE-a
  39. Ruby, 140 (3-way tie)
  40. Sofia, 140 (3-way tie)
  41. Bonnie, 135
  42. Holly, 129 (tie)
  43. Zoe, 129 (tie)
  44. Sienna, 126
  45. Isabella, 125 (tie)
  46. Maya, 125 (tie)
  47. Sarah, 121
  48. Ada, 119
  49. Rosie, 111
  50. Leah, 109

Boy Names

  1. Jack, 641 baby boys
  2. Noah, 485
  3. James, 412
  4. Rían, 372
  5. Charlie, 348
  6. Oisín, 340 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  7. Tadhg, 324 – pronounced tieg (like the first three letters of “tiger”)
  8. Liam, 323
  9. Cillian, 316 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  10. Daniel, 303
  11. Fionn, 287
  12. Michael, 278
  13. Conor, 275
  14. Finn, 269
  15. Patrick, 250
  16. Thomas, 246
  17. Darragh, 245
  18. Harry, 242
  19. Seán, 239
  20. Luke, 233
  21. Theo, 232
  22. Adam, 230
  23. Leo, 225
  24. Alex, 216
  25. Oliver, 201
  26. Ryan, 190
  27. Max, 189
  28. Cian, 185 – pronounced KEE-an or keen
  29. Tommy, 184
  30. Luca, 179
  31. Bobby, 170
  32. Mason, 167
  33. Dylan, 163 (3-way tie)
  34. Jamie, 163 (3-way tie)
  35. Kai, 163 (3-way tie)
  36. John, 160
  37. Ollie, 159
  38. Oscar, 156
  39. Shay, 152
  40. Alexander, 149 (tie)
  41. Ben, 149 (tie)
  42. Matthew, 146
  43. David, 143 (tie)
  44. Tom, 143 (tie)
  45. Ethan, 141
  46. Donnacha, 140 – pronounced DUN-uh-ka or DUN-uh-kha (the kh represents a guttural H-sound)
  47. Alfie, 139
  48. Jacob, 131
  49. Billy, 128
  50. Sam, 125

New to the girls’ top 100 were the names Hailey, Phoebe, Ayda, and Éala.

New to the boys’ top 100 were the names Blake and Cody.

The fastest-rising names in the top 100 in terms of numbers of babies were:

  • Millie (+58 baby girls), Olivia (+39), Éala (+32), Ellie (+31), Isabelle (+31)
  • Luca (+58 baby boys), Oisín (+38), Leo (+33), Kai (+33), Tomás (+30)

The fastest-rising names in terms of rank were:

  • Éala (+86 places), Phoebe (+45), Mary (+40), Hailey (+38), Ayda (+29)
  • Tomás (+42 places), Anthony (+31), Christopher (+29), Joey (+25), Kayden (+25)
Map of the four provinces of Ireland
Ireland’s four provinces

Home to more than five million people, the Republic of Ireland is divided into four provinces. (One of these provinces, Ulster, lies largely within Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.) The top baby names within each of the four provinces last year were…

Top Girl NameTop Boy Name
Leinster
(56% of the population)
EmilyJack
Munster
(27% of pop.)
EmilyJack
Connacht
(11% of pop.)
ÉabhaJack
Ulster [ROI portion]
(6% of pop.)
GraceJack

And what about the names at the other end of the spectrum? The following were given to just 3 babies each in Ireland last year:

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Ananya, Beatriz, Cliona, Dina, Eilidh, Faela, Fianna, Isadora, Joan, Khadija, Líadh, Luisne, Miruna, Morrigan, Nala, Orlagh, Prunelle, Réiltín, Saffie, Scotia, Tilda, Vamika, ZohaAilbe, Brooklyn, Caoilte, Denzel, Eamonn, Féidhlim, Geoffrey, Henrik, Isa, Josiah, Kamal, Lúan, Manus, Nilan, Ógie, Pio, Rokas, Séadhna, Tiernán, Viraj, Wayne, Yousuf, Zoraiz

Finally, here are Ireland’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing more Irish name pronunciations, just click that link.

Sources: Irish Babies’ Names – CSO (Irish Babies’ Names 2022), Births, Deaths and Marriages – CSO (Vital Statistics Yearly Summary 2022), Data – CSO, Provinces of Ireland – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Provinces of Ireland location map by Ssolbergj under CC BY-SA 4.0.

[Latest update: Feb. 2024]

Baby names associated with green: Ivy, Forest, Olive, Jade

green trees

Looking for baby names that are associated with green — including baby names that mean “green”?

If so, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve collected dozens of options for you in this post.

Before we get to the names, though, let’s take a quick look at what the color green represents…

Symbolism of green

What does the color green signify?

In Western cultures in particular, green can be symbolic of:

  • Nature
  • Growth
  • Wealth
  • Luck
  • Envy
  • Freshness
  • Quality

The overriding association with nature is due to the abundance of green plant life on Earth. Plants contain a green pigment called chlorophyll that allows them to absorb energy from light.

The color can also be associated with safety and permission, thanks to green traffic lights (which signal when it’s safe to proceed).

green ferns

Baby names associated with green

All of the names below are associated with the color green. The names range from common to uncommon, and their associations range from strong to slight.

Those that have been popular enough to appear in the U.S. baby name data are linked to their corresponding popularity graphs.

Alder
Alder trees have green foliage. The word alder is derived from the Old English word for the tree, alor. Here’s the popularity graph for Alder.

Aran
Aran is a Thai masculine name meaning “forest.” Here’s the popularity graph for Aran.

Aranya
Aranya is a Hindi gender-neutral name based on the Sanskrit word aranya, meaning “forest.” Here’s the popularity graph for Aranya.

Ash
Ash trees have green foliage. The word ash is derived from the Old English word for the tree, æsc. Here’s the popularity graph for Ash.

Aspen
Aspen trees have green foliage. The word aspen is derived from the Old English word for the tree, æspe. Here’s the popularity graph for Aspen.

Aurora
Aurora is part of both “aurora borealis” and “aurora australis” — the names of the polar lights, which are predominantly green. The polar lights are caused by solar wind (that is, charged particles emitted by sun) striking the Earth’s magnetic field. The word aurora means “dawn” in Latin. Here’s the popularity graph for Aurora.

Balsam
Balsam fir trees have dark green foliage. The name of the tree can be traced back to the Hebrew word basam, meaning “spice, perfume.” Here’s the popularity graph for Balsam.

Beryl
Beryl is a mineral that can be green. The name of the stone ultimately comes from the Ancient Greek word beryllos. (Green beryl is a paler green than emerald.) Here’s the popularity graph for Beryl.

Birch
Birch trees have green foliage. The word birch is derived from the Old English word for the tree, beorc. Here’s the popularity graph for Birch.

Björk
Björk is the Icelandic word for “birch.”

Blerim
Blerim is an Albanian masculine name based on the word blerim, meaning “greenness, verdure.” Here’s the popularity graph for Blerim.

Blerta
Blerta is an Albanian feminine name based on the word blertë, meaning “green.” Here’s the popularity graph for Blerta.

Burkni
Burkni is an Icelandic masculine name meaning “fern.”

Cactus
Cactus plants are typically green. The name of the plant is derived from the Ancient Greek word kaktos. Here’s the popularity graph for Cactus.

Cedar
Cedar trees have dark green foliage. The name of the tree ultimately comes from the Ancient Greek word kedros. Here’s the popularity graph for Cedar.

Celadon
Celadon is a pale grayish-green color. The name of the shade was inspired by a character named Céladon — a shepherd who wore pale green clothing — in the popular 17th-century French novel L’Astrée by Honoré d’Urfé.

Chloe
Chloe (or Chloë) is derived from the Ancient Greek word khloe, which referred to “the first green shoot of plants in spring.” Here’s the popularity graph for Chloe.

Chlora
Chlora is a variant of Chloris. Here’s the popularity graph for Chlora.

Chloris
Chloris, based on the Ancient Greek word khloros, meaning “pale green” or “greenish-yellow,” was the name of several figures in Greek mythology. Here’s the popularity graph for Chloris.

Clover
Clover leaves are green. The word clover is derived from the Old English word for the plant, claefre. Here’s the popularity graph for Clover.

Codrin
Codrin is a Romanian masculine name based on the word codru, meaning “forest.”

Cyan
Cyan is the bluish-green color halfway between green and blue on the visible spectrum. The name of the shade comes from the Ancient Greek word kyanos, meaning “dark blue.” Here’s the popularity graph for Cyan.

Cypress
Cypress trees have dark green foliage. The word cypress is derived from the Ancient Greek word for the tree, kyparissos. (In Greek mythology, a grieving boy named Kyparissos was transformed into a cypress tree.) Here’s the popularity graph for Cypress.

Douglas
Douglas is part of Douglas Fir — the name of a species of tree with dark green foliage. The tree was named in honor of Scottish botanist David Douglas. Here’s the popularity graph for Douglas.

Emerald
The word emerald refers to a vivid green variety of the mineral beryl. By extension, the word also refers to the green color of these crystals. The name of the stone can be traced back to the Ancient Greek word smaragdos, which referred to any green gemstone (including emerald, beryl, malachite, and jasper). Here’s the popularity graph for Emerald.

Emeraude
Emeraude is the French word for “emerald.” Here’s the popularity graph for Emeraude.

Esmeralda
Esmeralda is the Spanish word for “emerald.” Here’s the popularity graph for Esmeralda.

Evergreen
Evergreen trees retain their green foliage year-round. Here’s the popularity graph for Evergreen.

Fern
Fern fronds are green. The word fern is derived from the Old English word for the plant, fearn. Here’s the popularity graph for Fern.

Forest and Forrest
The word forest refers to a dense growth of trees and underbrush that covers a large area of land. It’s based on the Medieval Latin word foresta (or forestis). The more popular spelling of the name, Forrest, represents transferred usage of the English surname. The surname Forrest originally referred to a person who lived near or worked in a royal forest (that is, a forest owned by the sovereign and used as a hunting ground). Here are the popularity graphs for Forest and Forrest.

Giada
Giada is the Italian word for “jade.” Here’s the popularity graph for Giada.

Green
Green, of course, refers to the color green. :) Here’s the popularity graph for Green.

Greenlee
Greenlee comes from a habitational surname that can be traced back to the Old English words grene, meaning “green,” and leah, meaning “clearing, meadow.” Here’s the popularity graph for Greenlee.

Gretna
Gretna is part of Gretna Green — the name of the Scottish village that became famous in the late 18th century as an elopement destination for young English couples. The village name originally referred to the “green by Gretna,” with the word Gretna meaning “gravelly hill” (from the Old English elements greot, “grit,” and hoh, “heel” — denoting a hill shaped like the heel of a foot). Here’s the popularity graph for Gretna.

Haljand
Haljand is an Estonian masculine name based on the word haljas, meaning “green, verdant.”

Holly
Holly trees have green foliage. The word holly is derived from the Old English word for the tree, holen. Here’s the popularity graph for Holly.

Hunter
Hunter is a dark yellowish-green color. It was the shade of green worn by hunters during the 19th century. Here’s the popularity graph for Hunter.

Ivik
Ivik is a Greenlandic masculine name meaning “(blade of) grass.”

Ivy
The word ivy refers to any of several species of climbing or ground-creeping evergreen plants in the genus Hedera. By extension, it also refers to the deep green color of ivy’s foliage. Here’s the popularity graph for Ivy.

Jade
The word jade refers to two similar-looking minerals, nephrite and jadeite, that are commonly used as gemstones. By extension, it also refers to the green color of these minerals. Their common name can be traced back to the 16th-century Spanish term piedra de ijada, meaning “loin stone” (because the stone was thought to help cure loin and kidney ailments). Here’s the popularity graph for Jade.

Jandi
Jandi is a Korean feminine name meaning “grass.” Here’s the popularity graph for Jandi.

Kelly
Kelly is a bright green color. The Irish surname Kelly can be traced back to the Old Irish personal name Cellach. Here’s the popularity graph for Kelly.

Khidr and Khadir
Khidr, also spelled Khadir, is an Arabic masculine name meaning “green.” Here’s the popularity graph for Khadir.

Lakhdar
Lakhdar is an Arabic masculine name based on al-akhdar, meaning “the green.”

Laurel
Laurel trees have green foliage. The word laurel is derived from the Latin word for the tree, laurus. Here’s the popularity graph for Laurel.

Leaf
Leaf green is the bright yellowish-green color typical of plant leaves (due to the presence of chlorophyll). Here’s the popularity graph for Leaf.

Levert
Levert comes from the French surname LeVert, which is based on the Old French word vert, meaning “green.” Here’s the popularity graph for Levert.

Lin
Lin (second tone) is a Chinese name that can mean “valuable jade,” depending upon the character being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Lin.

Linden
Linden trees have green foliage. The word linden is derived from the Old English word for the tree, lind. Here’s the popularity graph for Linden.

Malachite
Malachite (pronounced MAL-uh-kiet) is a mineral that is green. The name of the mineral ultimately derives from the Ancient Greek word malache, meaning “mallow” — a reference to the resemblance between the color of malachite and the leaves of the mallow plant. Here’s the popularity graph for Malachite.

Matsu
Matsu is a Japanese feminine name that can mean “pine tree,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name.

Matsue
Matsue is a Japanese name that can include the element Matsu. Here’s the popularity graph for Matsue.

Matsuko
Matsuko is another Japanese name that can include the element Matsu. Here’s the popularity graph for Matsuko.

Midori
Midori is a Japanese gender-neutral name that can mean “green, verdure,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Midori.

Mint
Mint leaves are green. Aromatic mint plants are part of the genus Mentha, the name of which derives from the Ancient Greek word minthe.

Minttu
Minttu is the Finnish word for “mint.”

Moss
Moss are small, flowerless plants that grow in dense green mats. The Old English word for “moss” was mos. Here’s the popularity graph for Moss.

Mynta
Mynta is the Swedish word for “mint.”

Mynte
Mynte is the Danish word for “mint.”

Myrtle
Myrtle trees have green foliage. The word myrtle is derived from the Ancient Greek word for the tree, myrtos. Here’s the popularity graph for Myrtle.

Oak
Oak trees have green foliage. The word oak is derived from the Old English word for the tree, ac. Here’s the popularity graph for Oak.

Oihan
Oihan is a Basque masculine name meaning “forest.”

Oihana
Oihana is the feminine form of Oihan.

Olive
The word olive refers to the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea). By extension, it also refers to the dark yellowish-green color of unripened olive fruit. (Ripened olives are black.) Here’s the popularity graph for Olive.

Olivine
Olivine is a mineral that is usually yellowish-green. The name of the mineral can be traced back to the Latin word oliva, meaning “olive.” Here’s the popularity graph for Olivine.

Oren
Oren is a Hebrew masculine name meaning “pine tree.” Here’s the popularity graph for Oren.

Orna
Orna is the feminine form of Oren. Here’s the popularity graph for Orna.

Qorsuk
Qorsuk is a Greenlandic masculine name meaning “green, yellowish-green.”

Pallav
Pallav is a Hindi masculine name based on the Sanskrit word pallava, meaning “shoot, sprout, young leaf.”

Pallavi
Pallavi is the feminine form of Pallav. Here’s the popularity graph for Pallavi.

Panna
Panna is a Hindi feminine name that can mean “emerald” or “leaf.”

Peridot
Peridot, a variety of the mineral olivine, is yellowish-green.

Phyllis
Phyllis, the Ancient Greek word for “foliage” (based on phyllon, meaning “leaf”) was the name of several figures in Greek mythology. Here’s the popularity graph for Phyllis.

Pilutaq
Pilutaq is a Greenlandic gender-neutral name meaning “leaf.”

Pine
Pine needles are green. The word pine is derived from the Latin word for the tree, pinus.

Sage
Sage leaves are grayish-green. The name of the sage plant (genus Salvia) can be traced back (via Old French sauge) to the Latin word salvus, meaning “healthy.” Here’s the popularity graph for Sage.

Sirkka
Sirkka is a Finnish feminine name that can be derived from the word heinäsirkka, meaning “grasshopper” (many of which are green), or from the word sirkkalehti, meaning “cotyledon” (the embryonic leaf of seed-bearing plants). Here’s the popularity graph for Sirkka.

Sylvain and Sylvaine
Sylvain (masculine) and Sylvaine (feminine) are the modern French forms of Silvanus. Here’s the popularity graph for Sylvain.

Silvana and Silvano
Silvana (feminine) and Silvano (masculine) are the modern Italian forms of Silvanus. Here are the popularity graphs for Silvana and Silvano.

Silvanus
Silvanus, based on the Latin word silva, meaning “wood, forest,” was the name of the Roman god of forests. Here’s the popularity graph for Silvanus.

Silvester
Silvester is derived from the Latin word silvestris, meaning “forested” or “of the forest.” Here’s the popularity graph for Silvester.

Silvestro
Silvestro is the Italian form of Silvester. Here’s the popularity graph for Silvestro.

Silvia and Silvio
Silvia (feminine) and Silvio (masculine) are the modern Italian and Spanish forms of Silvius. Here are the popularity graphs for Silvia and Silvio.

Silvius
Silvius was a Roman masculine name based on the Latin word silva, meaning “wood, forest.”

Sylvester
Sylvester is a variant of Silvester. Here’s the popularity graph for Sylvester.

Sylvia
Sylvia is a variant of Silvia. Here’s the popularity graph for Sylvia.

Talar
Talar (also spelled Dalar) is an Armenian feminine name based on the word talar or dalar, meaning “green, verdant.” Here’s the popularity graph for Talar.

Teal
Teal is a dark bluish-green color. The shade was named after the Eurasain teal (Anas crecca), a type of duck with a teal-colored stripe on its head. Here’s the popularity graph for Teal.

Thao
Thao is a Vietnamese gender-neutral name meaning “herbs, grass.” Here’s the popularity graph for Thao.

Turquoise
Turquoise (pronounced TUR-koyz) is a mineral that is sometimes bluish-green. The name of the stone can be traced back to the Old French term pierre tourques, meaning “Turkish stone.” Though it was mined in Persia, the stone was introduced to Europe in the 13th century by Turkish traders. Here’s the popularity graph for Turquoise.

Uumaaq
Uumaaq is a Greenlandic masculine name meaning “fresh, green (plant).”

Vipin
Vipin is a Hindi masculine name based on the Sanskrit word vipina, meaning “forest.”

Viridian
Viridian is a bluish-green color. The name of the pigment comes from the Latin word viridis, meaning “green.” Here’s the popularity graph for Viridian.

Viridiana
Viridiana is the feminine form of Viridian. Here’s the popularity graph for Viridiana.

Willow
Willow trees have green foliage. The word willow is derived from the Old English word for the tree, welig. Here’s the popularity graph for Willow.

Zumra
Zumra is a Turkish feminine name based on the word zümrüt, meaning “emerald.” Here’s the popularity graph for Zumra.


Can you think of any other names that have a connection to the color green?

P.S. Want to see more color-related baby names? Here are lists of red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple names.

Sources:

Images:

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2021

Flag of Ireland
Flag of Ireland

According to data from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), the most popular baby names in the country last year were Fiadh and Jack.

Here are Ireland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Fiadh, 424 baby girls
  2. Grace, 412
  3. Emily, 388
  4. Sophie, 336
  5. Éabha, 288
  6. Lucy, 287
  7. Mia, 279
  8. Ava, 272
  9. Lily, 271
  10. Ella, 268
  11. Amelia, 265
  12. Chloe, 243
  13. Hannah, 238
  14. Sophia, 234
  15. Emma, 233
  16. Ellie, 228
  17. Isla, 226
  18. Molly, 219 (3-way tie)
  19. Olivia, 219 (3-way tie)
  20. Sadie, 219 (3-way tie)
  21. Anna, 209
  22. Freya, 208
  23. Evie, 190 (tie)
  24. Saoirse, 190 (tie)
  25. Caoimhe, 183
  26. Ruby, 180
  27. Robyn, 175
  28. Kate, 172
  29. Willow, 166
  30. Sofia, 162
  31. Holly, 160
  32. Aoife, 159
  33. Cara, 155
  34. Róisín, 152
  35. Katie, 150 (tie)
  36. Sadhbh, 150 (tie)
  37. Leah, 148 (tie)
  38. Millie, 148 (tie)
  39. Isabelle, 147
  40. Alice, 138 (tie)
  41. Clodagh, 138 (tie)
  42. Zoe, 136
  43. Sarah, 134
  44. Erin, 132
  45. Ada, 131
  46. Annie, 129
  47. Bonnie, 128
  48. Charlotte, 122 (tie)
  49. Layla, 122 (tie)
  50. Rosie, 118

Boy Names

  1. Jack, 667 baby boys
  2. Noah, 475
  3. James, 442
  4. Conor, 360
  5. Rían, 357
  6. Liam, 353
  7. Charlie, 345
  8. Daniel, 325
  9. Cillian, 322
  10. Tadhg, 318
  11. Michael, 310
  12. Oisín, 302
  13. Finn, 299
  14. Fionn, 289
  15. Thomas, 288
  16. Seán, 274
  17. Darragh, 273
  18. Luke, 268
  19. Patrick, 266
  20. Harry, 264
  21. Alex, 253
  22. Adam, 237
  23. Cian, 217
  24. Theo, 210
  25. Oliver, 208
  26. Dylan, 205
  27. Jamie, 203
  28. John, 198
  29. Leo, 192
  30. Oscar, 189
  31. Ollie, 187
  32. Ben, 185
  33. Tom, 181
  34. Bobby, 179
  35. Ryan, 172
  36. Tommy, 171
  37. Matthew, 170 (tie)
  38. Max, 170 (tie)
  39. Callum, 162
  40. Sam, 161
  41. Danny, 158
  42. Aaron, 151
  43. Alexander, 150
  44. Alfie, 147 (tie)
  45. Jake, 147 (tie)
  46. Mason, 143
  47. David, 141
  48. Joseph, 139
  49. Jacob, 137
  50. Ethan, 135

In the girls’ top 10, Éabha and Lily replaced Amelia and Hannah. (In both 2019 and 2020, Éabha was the fastest-rising girl name in Ireland.)

In the boys’ top 10, Rían, Cillian, and Tadhg replaced Finn, Fionn, and Harry.

Newbies to the girls’ top 100 were Indie, Ayla and Lottie; newbies to the boys’ top 100 were Teddy, Daithí, Páidí, Jaxon, Brody, Ted, Hunter, Tadgh, Tiernan, and Arlo.

The fastest-rising names in the top 100 in terms of numbers of babies were:

  • Croía (+60 baby girls), Emily (+59), Fiadh (+58), Éabha (+54), Isla (+52)
  • Rían (+72 baby boys), Jack (+70), Danny (+57), Theo (+53), Ollie (+51)

The fastest-rising names in terms of rank were:

  • Croía (+43 spots), Indie (+28), Ayla (+28), Fíadh (+24), Daisy (+21)
  • Ted (+49 spots), Hunter (+38), Hugo (+35), Brody (+35), Teddy (+31)

Rían (which was already on the rise) and Croía have both given a boost recently by Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor, who welcomed a daughter named Croía Mairéad at the start of 2019 and a son named Rían in May of 2021.

Here’s what writer and Irish language activist Darach Ó Séaghdha’s had to say about the rise of Rían (and Éabha):

Given that the first name Ryan started to decline in popularity in the 2010s around the time Rian and Rían began to ascend it is reasonable to see Rían as an update or replacement to Ryan, much as Éabha has climbed in popularity as Eve, Ava and Aoibhe have wavered.

He also noted that “Rían and Rian would be the [most popular] Gaeilge-origin boy name if counted together, edging ahead of Conor.”

P.S. To follow up on Friday’s post about the free lighthouse tour…the name Patrick is currently ranked 19th in Ireland, but none of the other three names (Paddy, Pat, or Patricia) rank anywhere near the top 100. That said, one of the names new to the boys’ top 100 last year was Páidí (pronounced paw-dee) — a pet form of Pádraig, which is an Irish form of Patrick.

Sources: Irish Babies’ Names, Irish Babies’ Names 2021, The Irish For: The rise of Rían – the latest baby names in Ireland

Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)

Quotes about the names of politicians

U.S. President John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
John Quincy Adams

From the National Park Service’s biography of 6th U.S. president John Quincy Adams:

Born on July 11, 1767 in Braintree, Massachusetts, he was the son of two fervent revolutionary patriots, John and Abigail Adams, whose ancestors had lived in New England for five generations. Abigail gave birth to her son two days before her prominent grandfather, Colonel John Quincy, died so the boy was named John Quincy Adams in his honor.

(Quincy, Massachusetts, was also named after Colonel John Quincy.)

From the humorous remarks given by U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in October of 2008:

Many of you — many of you know that I got my name Barack from my father. What you may not know is Barack is actually Swahili for “that one.” And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn’t think I’d ever run for president.

(In truth, Obama’s first name a form of Barak, which means “blessing” in Arabic.)

From a 2010 article about Virginia political candidate Krystal Ball, who was asked about her name during her congressional campaign:

The answer: Her father has a doctorate in physics and did his dissertation on crystals.

So after her mother named older sisters Heidi and Holly, it was dad’s turn.

Ball said she doesn’t mind the questions, though, or the jokes.

And she’ll certainly be hoping a lot of people remember that name now that she’s running for Congress.

From Kenneth Whyte’s book Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times (2017), which describes the naming of Herbert Hoover (who was born in 1874 to Quaker parents Jesse and Hulda Hoover):

Hulda had shown [her sister] Agnes a bureau drawer full of handmade clothes prepared for the baby, all of them suited for a girl, to be named Laura. Several decades later Agnes recalled that the newborn, a boy, was “round and plump and looked about very cordial at every body.”

Naming the child was a problem as Laura, obviously, would not do, and the mother had no alternative in mind. Another sister reminded Hulda of a favorite book, Pierre and His Family, a Sunday school martyrology set among the Protestant Waldenses of Piedmont. The hero of the story is a spirited boy named Hubert who is dedicated to his Bible and longs to become a pastor. Hulda’s sister remembered Hubert as Herbert, and the baby was called Herbert Clark Hoover. He shared his father’s middle name.

(Discovered via a Midwest National Parks Instagram post.)

From Nelson Mandela’s 1994 autobiography Long Walk to Freedom:

Apart from life, a strong constitution, and an abiding connection to the Thembu royal house, the only thing my father bestowed upon me at birth was a name, Rolihlahla. In Xhosa, Rolihlahla literally means “pulling the branch of a tree”, but its colloquial meaning more accurately would be “troublemaker.” I do not believe that names are destiny or that my father somehow divined my future, but in later years, friends and relatives would ascribe to my birth name the many storms I have both caused and weathered.

From a 2022 article about British politician Penelope “Penny” Mordaunt (b. 1973):

It was a position she was well cut out for, given her strong military background — her father was a parachuter and she was a member of the Royal Navy from 2010 to 2019, making her the only woman MP currently who is a navy reservist. … (Fun fact: Penny was named after the Royal Navy frigate HMS Penelope.)

On the origin of Harry S. Truman’s given names, from the book Truman (1992) by David McCullough:

In a quandary over a middle name, [parents] Mattie and John were undecided whether to honor her father or his. In the end they compromised with the letter S. It could be taken to stand for Solomon or Shipp, but actually stood for nothing, a practice not unknown among the Scotch-Irish, even for first names. The baby’s first name was Harry, after his Uncle Harrison.

(Ulysses S. Grant likewise had a single-letter middle.)

From a 2020 CNN article about how to pronounce Sen. Kamala Harris’s name:

Harris wrote in the preface of her 2019 memoir, “The Truths We Hold,” “First, my name is pronounced ‘comma-la,’ like the punctuation mark. It means ‘lotus flower,’ which is a symbol of significance in Indian culture. A lotus grows underwater, its flower rising above the surface while its roots are planted firmly in the river bottom.”

From a 2019 article about how to pronounce the name of presidential candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke:

He was named after his grandfathers. His mother Melissa O’Rourke said on the campaign trail during his U.S. Senate run that “Robert” — her father’s name — didn’t seem to fit when he was a baby.

The family has deep roots in El Paso, Texas, and “Beto” is a common shortening of the name “Roberto,” or “Robert.” If you’re wondering, it’s pronounced BEH-toe and O’Rourke is oh-RORK.

Image: John Quincy Adams (1858) by George P. A. Healy

[Latest update: Oct. 2023]