girl's name
Aoibhe
EE-va
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
- Births on record 2,013
Northern Ireland
#150
2024 births
Aoibhe is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "radiant" or "beautiful," from aoibh — the look of a face that is smiling. It ranks 150th in Northern Ireland and is falling from a peak in 2008.
- Aoibhe is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2008, when 127 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 3,450 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1995.
Aoibhe over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 42 |
| 2000s | 775 |
| 2010s | 603 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 187 |
What Aoibhe means
Aoibhe means radiant, or of pleasant appearance, from the Irish aoibh. The root describes an expression rather than a fixed feature — the look of someone smiling — which is a distinction most translations lose.
Where Aoibhe comes from
Aoibhe is the Irish Aoibhe, from aoibh, a pleasant or smiling expression. It belongs to a tight cluster that all reach back to the same root — Aoife, Aoibhín, Aoibheann and Aoibhe — and Irish registers have treated them almost interchangeably for centuries, which makes their separate rankings somewhat artificial. Aoife is the best known: in the Ulster Cycle she is the warrior woman Cú Chulainn defeats and by whom he fathers Connla, the son he later kills without knowing him. Aoibhe has no accepted anglicization, and Eva is sometimes offered but properly belongs to Aoife. The four names together are considerably more common in Ireland than any one of their rankings suggests.
Aoibhe in use
Aoibhe ranks 150th in Northern Ireland with 13 births in 2024 and 304th in Ireland, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 2008. Our records carry it from 1995. It is very rare outside the island at 4,244th in England and Wales — the spelling gives non-Irish readers no route to the sound, which is EE-va.
How popular is Aoibhe?
In 2025, Aoibhe was given to 13 babies in Ireland, ranking #304 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Aoibhe is used
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 Aoibhe
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Aoibhe also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Aoibhe over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Aoibhe 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.
- Irish
- Aoife
Sibling names for Aoibhe
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Aoibhe — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Aoibhe
What does the name Aoibhe mean?
Aoibhe means "radiant" or "beautiful," from the Irish aoibh, a pleasant expression.
How do you pronounce Aoibhe?
EE-va, two syllables. The bh gives a v sound.
Is Aoibhe the same as Aoife?
They are separate names from the same root, and Irish registers have long treated the cluster interchangeably.
How popular is Aoibhe?
150th in Northern Ireland and 304th in Ireland.
Is Aoibhe a girl's or a boy's name?
Aoibhe is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
Is Aoibhe a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Aoibhe currently ranks #150 in Ireland. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.