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Erin

Say it: ERR-in/ˈɛɹɪn/

GirlIrishMeans ireland4 letters2 syllables

#71

in Ireland (2025)

75

babies in 2025

#33

best rank (2022)

4,398

babies since 1975

Down 26

10-year rank change

Erin through the years

Compare with another name →
Erin: babies per year in Ireland, 1964 to 2025050100150200250196419701980199020002010202020251998: CSO series changePeak 2010: 210
Erin: rank per year in Ireland, 1964 to 2025#1#10#50#100#250#500#1000196419701980199020002010202020251998: CSO series change
Erin: per 10,000 girls per year in Ireland, 1964 to 2025020406080196419701980199020002010202020251998: CSO series change
Babies per 10,000 girls listed by the CSO that year, which evens out changes in the number of births.
Show the numbers
YearBabies (girls)Rank
202575#71
2024127#34
2023125#40
2022153#33
2021140#42
2020142#34
2019153#37
2018115#51
2017109#58
2016165#38
2015136#45
2014158#38
2013180#36
2012177#39
2011159#47
2010210#36
2009204#37
2008193#39
2007189#40
2006196#34
2005158#40
2004119#51
2003135#42
2002117#48
2001120#47
200091#49
199958#79
199860#65
199744#117
199637#137
199543#119
199423#179
199316#234
199213#269
199124#180
199016#228
198912#272
198819#214
198718#232
198616#240
198520#225
198415#252
198323#209
198229#190
198122#225
198017#258
19797#363
197813#281
19774#468
19753#503

Source: CSO, Irish Babies' Names (VSA50, VSA60), CC BY 4.0. Spellings with and without fadas are combined; the CSO only recorded fadas from 2018.

★ What does Erin mean?

Ireland

Irish, an English spelling of Éirinn, a form of Éire (Ireland).

Say it right

ERRin

Some people say it closer to AIR-in.

The story of Erin

Erin comes from Éirinn, a form of Éire, the Irish name for Ireland. Éirinn is the form used after prepositions, as in in Éirinn (in Ireland), and in some dialects it is the everyday form of the word. English-language poets took it up as a romantic name for the country, and a female figure called Erin came to stand for Ireland in the way Britannia stands for Britain.

As a given name it came into use in the middle of the twentieth century, chosen as a way of honouring Ireland.

In Ireland it reached the CSO list in 1975 and grew steadily from the 1990s. It peaked in 2010 with 210 babies. Its best rank was number 33 in 2022, with all spellings combined. The plain spelling Erin was 35th that year. It has done even better in Northern Ireland, where it was 5th in 2009.

Say it differently where you're from, or spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Sources
  • Wiktionary: Erin (English proper noun)
  • Wikipedia: Erin (given name)
  • CSO VSA60, Girls Names in Ireland with 3 or More Occurrences
  • NISRA, Baby names in Northern Ireland

At a glance

Similar names

AoifeCiaraOrlaElla

Sibling ideas

ConorCianRyan

Spellings counted here

Spelling2025All years
Erin754,347
Érinunder 338
Erínunder 313

In Northern Ireland

#21 in 2025 with 57 babies. Best rank #5 (2009); 3,267 babies since 1997.

Source: NISRA, Open Government Licence.

Erin is also given to boys: 27 since 1984.

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