girl's name

Aodhla

AY-lah

  • Origin Irish
  • Gender Girl
  • Letters 6
  • Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
  • Births on record 130

Ireland

#141

2025 births

Aodhla is a girl's name of Irish origin built on Aodh, the fire god, and it is the newest name in Ireland's top 200. It ranks 141st there and our records carry it only from 2017.

  • Aodhla is a name of Irish origin.
  • Peaked in Ireland in 2025, when 32 babies were given the name.
  • It is a recent arrival in the birth records in Ireland.
  • Today about 1 in 1,402 babies in Ireland is given this name.
  • First appears in birth records in 2017.

Aodhla over time

Births per decade in Ireland, 2010s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

113
'10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Aodhla by decade in Ireland
Decade Births
2010s 14
2020s (to 2025) 113

What Aodhla means

Aodhla is read as fire, or fiery one, from the Irish Aodh. It is a modern feminine formation rather than an inherited name, so the meaning comes from the root rather than from any settled compound.

Where Aodhla comes from

Aodhla is a recent Irish coinage, a feminine built on Aodh — the name of a fire deity in pre-Christian Irish religion and among the commonest of all early Irish men's names, behind Aodhán, Aidan and the surname McHugh. There is no medieval Aodhla; the name belongs with Croíadh, Éala and a small group of very new Irish formations that take a recognizable root and give it a modern feminine ending. Reference sites tend to supply these with an ancient pedigree they do not have, which is worth saying plainly. Our own records make the case better than any argument: the name does not appear at all before 2017, and its entire volume is in the last eight years.

Aodhla in use

Aodhla ranks 141st in Ireland with 32 births in 2025 and 417th in Northern Ireland, and our data marks it new — our records carry it only from 2017, and it is at its peak now. It appears in no other market we hold. A name reaching a national top 200 within eight years of first appearing is unusual, and it is the clearest example in our Irish data of how fast a coinage can move.

How popular is Aodhla?

In 2025, Aodhla was given to 32 babies in Ireland, ranking #141 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.

Where Aodhla is used

Ireland #141 32 in 2025
Northern Ireland #417 3 in 2024

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

Irish figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. The Central Statistics Office began recording the síneadh fada in 2018, so accented and unaccented spellings are counted separately from that year on. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Aodhla

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Aodhla also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Aodhla over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

1 nickname for Aodhla

Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.

Every name with built-in nicknames →

Aodhla in other languages

The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.

Other forms
Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
Aodhan Aodh

Sibling names for Aodhla

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Aodhla — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Aodhla

What does the name Aodhla mean?

It is built on Aodh, the Irish fire god, and read as fire or fiery one.

Is Aodhla a traditional Irish name?

No. It is a recent feminine formation — our records do not carry it before 2017.

How do you pronounce Aodhla?

AY-lah, two syllables. The dh is silent.

How popular is Aodhla?

141st in Ireland, reached within eight years of first appearing in our records.

Is Aodhla a girl's or a boy's name?

Aodhla is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.

What are the nicknames for Aodhla?

Aodhla is usually shortened to Aodh.

Is Aodhla a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Aodhla currently ranks #141 in Ireland. It is a recent arrival in the birth records. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.