Líadh, Caitríona, Óisín and Dónall Amongst Irish Names At Risk Of Extinction

Irish names can be divisive at the best of times thanks to their often harsh phonetic pronunciations and spelling that can be tricky for those outside of Ireland. in spite of this however, many Irish names have become universally popular far beyond the Emerald Isle, with names like Sean, Liam and Connor becoming so ubiquitous they are often not recognised as being Irish by many people today.

Other Irish names it seems are not so lucky as new data has shown that a number of once popular Irish names are now running the risk of becoming extinct as so few parents are opting to use these names for their newborn babies.

For the boys, names under the highest risk include Dónall, Éamon, Rían, Pádraic and Óisín as each of these names was bestowed unto just three newborn babes each in 2020. Have we no Tír na nÓg fans left in this country?

The name Kieran is apparently falling out of favour not just in Ireland but overseas as well as only three babies were names Kieran in the UK last year.

The female names under threat are Líadh, Caitríona, Clíona, Síle and, perhaps most surprisingly, Róisín which was once the 23^rd most popular name in Ireland in the year 2000 according to The Irish Post.

Photo by Picsea on Unsplash

Other classic Irish cailín names are faring a little better as Niamh and Aoife take up the second and third most popular name spots respectively. Ciara also remains in high demand ranking as the sixth most popular name for a baby girl in Ireland last year.

Liam, Fionn and Finn also remain in good stead, each ranking comfortably in the Top 10 for boys' names.

If you're feeling worried for your own name, you can have a gander the CSO website here to check where it ranks in terms of popularity in any given year.

If you do find yourself bearing a name that's rapidly falling out of style, bear in mind this may not be such a bad thing - ask anyone named Niamh, Jack, Ciara or Sarah and they'll be able to tell you all about the perils of having such a popular name!

Topics: Ireland

Gary Grimes

Gary Grimes is a sometimes journalist and sometimes publicist, originally from Sligo but usually in London. When he’s not PRing everything from gin to sex toys, he’s usually covering music, photography and pop culture topics for titles including Interview Magazine, The Face, Huck Magazine and Dummy. When he’s doing neither of those things, he’s probably rewatching weeks of Big Brother 2005 on YouTube or explaining to someone why Paris Hilton is a genius. Reach him at [email protected]

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