girl's name
Clodagh
KLOH-da
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 8,276
Northern Ireland
#20
2024 births
Clodagh is a girl's name of Irish origin taken from the River Clodiagh in County Tipperary. It is one of the few Irish names whose adoption can be traced to a single family in the twentieth century, and it ranked 47th in Ireland in 2025.
- Clodagh is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2009, when 224 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 449 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1964.
Clodagh 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 | 182 |
| 1970s | 878 |
| 1980s | 516 |
| 1990s | 1,030 |
| 2000s | 1,583 |
| 2010s | 1,405 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 679 |
What Clodagh means
Clodagh has no meaning beyond the river it is named for. The Clodiagh is a tributary of the Suir in County Tipperary, and the name is simply that word used as a personal name.
Where Clodagh comes from
Clodagh comes from the River Clodiagh, whose own name is of uncertain origin and may predate Irish. Its use as a personal name is recent and unusually well documented: the Marquess of Waterford is said to have named a daughter after the river early in the twentieth century, and the name spread from there through Irish society. That gives it a clear starting point, which almost no Irish name has. Because it is a river name rather than a word with a sense, reference sites that assign it a meaning are generally reaching — there is no attested gloss to give.
Clodagh in use
Clodagh ranked 47th in Ireland in 2025 with 100 births and 20th in Northern Ireland in 2024, which is a notably stronger showing in the North than in the Republic. Outside the island it is rare: 1,207 in England and Wales and 10,345 in the United States.
How popular is Clodagh?
In 2025, Clodagh was given to 100 babies in Ireland, ranking #47 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Clodagh 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 Clodagh is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Clódagh | Clódagh is a rare spelling of Clodagh, written with a fada and recorded 21 times, mostly in Ireland. | 21 |
Names that peaked alongside Clodagh
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Clodagh also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Clodagh over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Clodagh
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.
Clodagh 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 Clodagh
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Clodagh — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Clodagh
What does the name Clodagh mean?
It has no separate meaning. Clodagh is taken from the River Clodiagh in County Tipperary.
How do you pronounce Clodagh?
KLOH-da, two syllables. The gh is silent.
How old is the name Clodagh?
It is a twentieth-century adoption, traced to the Waterford family naming a daughter after the river.
Is Clodagh popular in Northern Ireland?
More so than in the Republic — it ranked 20th in Northern Ireland against 47th in Ireland.
Is Clodagh a girl's or a boy's name?
Clodagh is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Clodagh?
Clodagh has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Clodagh?
Clodagh is usually shortened to Clo.
Is Clodagh a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Clodagh currently ranks #20 in Ireland. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.