boy's name
Ciaran
KEER-awn
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 24,005
Ireland
#150
as Ciarán, 2025
Ciaran is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "little dark one," borne by two of Ireland's twelve apostles. It ranks 150th in Ireland and 195th in Scotland, and it is falling in our data.
- Ciaran is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 1982, when 359 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 4,486 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1964.
Ciaran over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1960s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 770 |
| 1970s | 1,977 |
| 1980s | 3,133 |
| 1990s | 2,829 |
| 2000s | 2,339 |
| 2010s | 1,121 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 276 |
What Ciaran means
Ciaran means little dark one, or little black-haired one, from the Irish ciar with a diminutive ending. The color word covers dark brown and black, and applied to a person it describes the hair.
Where Ciaran comes from
Ciaran anglicizes the Irish Ciarán, from ciar, dark, with the diminutive -án. Two saints of the name are counted among the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Ciarán of Clonmacnoise founded the monastery on the Shannon in 544 and died of plague at about thirty-three, having led it for less than a year — Clonmacnoise nonetheless became one of the great centers of Irish learning, and the Annals of Tigernach were written there. Ciarán of Saighir is the older figure, sometimes called the first-born of the saints of Ireland and said to have preceded Patrick. Kieran and Kieron are the common phonetic respellings, and Ciara is the feminine. The name has been continuously used in Ireland rather than revived, which distinguishes it from most Irish names in the charts.
Ciaran in use
Ciaran ranks 150th in Ireland with 49 births in 2025 and 195th in Scotland, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 1982. Our records carry it from 1964. It reaches 960th in England and Wales and 1,613th in the United States. The accented Ciarán and the respelling Kieran are counted separately, which spreads the true total across three entries.
How popular is Ciaran?
In 2025, Ciaran was given to 10 babies in Ireland, ranking #381 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Ciaran 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.
How Ciaran is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Ciarán | Ciarán is Ciaran written with a fada, used in Ireland, where it ranks #150. | 339 |
| Ciaràn | Ciaràn is a rare spelling of Ciaran, written with a grave accent and recorded 4 times, mostly in Ireland. | 4 |
Names that peaked alongside Ciaran
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ciaran also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ciaran over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ciaran 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.
Sibling names for Ciaran
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ciaran — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ciaran
What does the name Ciaran mean?
Ciaran means "little dark one," from the Irish ciar with a diminutive ending.
Is Ciaran the same as Kieran?
Yes — Kieran is the phonetic respelling. Registers count them separately.
Who was Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise?
He founded the monastery on the Shannon in 544 and died of plague within a year, aged about thirty-three.
Is Ciara the feminine?
Yes, from the same root ciar, dark.
How popular is the name Ciaran?
In 2025, Ciaran was given to 10 babies in Ireland, ranking #381 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Ciaran a girl's or a boy's name?
Ciaran is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Ciaran most popular?
Ciaran peaked in 1982, when 359 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Ciaran a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ciaran 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.