How popular is the baby name Ailbhe in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Ailbhe.

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 Ailbhe


Posts that Mention the Name Ailbhe

Popular baby names in Ireland, 2014

According to data from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), the most popular baby names in Ireland in 2014 were Emily and Jack.

Here are Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2014:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Emily, 619 baby girls
2. Sophie, 468
3. Emma, 441
4. Grace, 408
5. Ava, 404
6. Ella, 398
7. Amelia, 388
8. Mia, 370
9. Lucy, 369
10. Aoife, 364		1. Jack, 786 baby boys
2. James, 695
3. Daniel, 638
4. Conor, 581
5. Sean, 526
6. Adam, 493
7. Luke, 437
8. Noah, 434
9. Harry, 398
10. Charlie, 389

In the girls’ top 10, Mia replaced Sarah. (Also: Grace rose from 9th to 4th, while Aoife fell from 6th to 10th.)

In the boys’ top 10, Luke and Charlie replaced Ryan and Michael.

Of all the girl names in the current top 100, the ones that saw the biggest increases from 2013 to 2014 were…

  • Evie, Amber, Sadie, Annie and Ailbhe (in terms of rank change)
  • Sadie, Olivia, Amber, Evie and Lily (in terms of number of babies)

Of all the boy names in the current top 100, the ones that saw the biggest increases from 2013 to 2014 were…

  • Ollie, Peter, Isaac, Danny, Billy and Lorcan (in terms of rank change)
  • David, Luke, Callum, Peter and Ciaran (in terms of number of babies)

Kayden, the boy name that saw the biggest rank-change increase from 2012 to 2013, was one of the names that dropped out of the top 100 in 2014.

Here are the 2013 and 2012 rankings for Ireland.

Source: Irish Babies’ Names 2014 (CSO)
Image by NakNakNak from Pixabay

How to pronounce Irish names: Aoife, Cian, Niamh, Oisín

How to pronounce Irish names

Most of the names popular in Ireland today — names like Jack, Sarah, Adam and Emma — are easy to pronounce. But others can be tricky for non-Irish-speakers to decipher.

So, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here are some (rough) pronunciations of various popular Irish names like Aoife, Cian, Niamh and Cillian. Those that have popped up at least once in the U.S. data are linked to their U.S. popularity graphs.

Irish Girl Names

  • Ailbhe is pronounced AL-va.
  • Aine (Áine) is pronounced AWN-ya.
  • Aisling is pronounced ASH-ling or ASH-lin.
  • Aoibhe is pronounced EE-va.
  • Aoibheann is pronounced EE-vin.
  • Aoife is pronounced EE-fa.
  • Caoilfhionn is pronounced KEE-lin or KWEE-lin.
  • Caoimhe is pronounced KEE-va or KWEE-va.
  • Ciara is pronounced KEE-ra.*
  • Clodagh is pronounced KLOH-da.
  • Croia (Croía) is pronounced KREE-a.
  • Eabha (Éabha) is pronounced EY-va.
  • Eimear is pronounced EE-mer.
  • Eithne is pronounced EHN-ya (just like Enya).
  • Fiadh is pronounced FEE-a.
  • Grainne (Gráinne) is pronounced GRAWN-ya.
  • Laoise is pronounced LEE-sha.
  • Liadan (Líadan) is pronounced LEE-uh-din or LEE-din.
  • Meabh (Méabh) is pronounced mayv.
  • Niamh is pronounced neev or NEE-iv.
  • Roisin (Róisín) is pronounced ROH-sheen.
  • Sadhbh is pronounced siev (rhymes with the number “five”).
  • Saoirse is pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha.
  • Sinead (Sinéad) is pronounced shi-NAYD.
  • Siobhan (Siobhán) is pronounced shi-VAWN (similar to “chiffon”) or shi-WAN.
  • Siofra (Síofra) is pronounced SHEE-fra.

Irish Boy Names

  • Cathal is pronounced KAH-hul.
  • Cian is pronounced KEE-an or keen.*
  • Ciaran (Ciarán) is pronounced KEE-ran.*
  • Cillian is pronounced KIL-ee-an.*
  • Daithi (Dáithí) is pronounced DAH-hee.
  • Domhnall is pronounced DOH-nul.
  • Donnacha is pronounced DUN-uh-ka or DUN-uh-kha (the kh represents a guttural H-sound).
  • Eoghan is pronounced OH-in.
  • Eoin is pronounced OH-in.
  • Odhran (Odhrán) is pronounced OH-rawn.
  • Oisin (Oisín) is pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen.
  • Padraig (Pádraig) is pronounced PAW-rik or PAW-drig.
  • Páidí is pronounced PAW-dee.
  • Ruairi (Ruairí) is pronounced ROR-ee.
  • Seamus (Séamus) is pronounced SHAY-mus.
  • Sean (Seán) is pronounced shawn.
  • Senan (Senán) is pronounced sheh-NAWN.
  • Tadhg is pronounced tieg (like the first three letters of “tiger”).

*In Irish, C’s are always hard (i.e., they make a K-sound, not an S-sound).

Please keep in mind that these pronunciations may not cover all dialects of Irish.

What other Irish names do you have a hard time pronouncing?

Sources: Forvo, Ireland Before You Die, Behind the Name

[Latest update: March 2022]