boy's name
Conn
KON
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
- Births on record 806
Ireland
#169
2025 births
Conn is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "chief" or "hound," borne by the High King from whom Connacht takes its name. It ranks 169th in Ireland and is rising in our data.
- Conn is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2021, when 35 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 1,495 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1970.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Conn over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1970s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 14 |
| 1980s | 31 |
| 1990s | 35 |
| 2000s | 98 |
| 2010s | 168 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 170 |
What Conn means
Conn is read either as chief or as hound. The Irish conn means sense or reason and by extension a leader, while cú, genitive con, is a hound or wolf — and the two are impossible to separate in the name.
Where Conn comes from
Conn comes from the Irish Conn, which sits at the meeting point of two words: conn, meaning sense, reason or a chief, and the genitive of cú, a hound or wolf, which stands behind Conor, Conall and Conan. Its bearer is Conn Cétchathach, Conn of the Hundred Battles, a second-century High King in the traditional reckoning from whom the Connachta take their name — and so Connacht, the province. He is also the ancestor claimed by the Uí Néill. Conn Ó Néill, the sixteenth-century Earl of Tyrone, carried it into recorded history. The name is unrelated to the English con, from Latin contra, and to Conn as a Scottish surname, which comes from a different source.
Conn in use
Conn ranks 169th in Ireland with 30 births in 2025 and 215th in Northern Ireland, and it is rising in our data with a peak in 2021. Our records carry it from 1970. It appears in no other market we hold, which places it with Donagh, Iarla and Barra among the short Irish names that have not left the island.
How popular is Conn?
In 2025, Conn was given to 30 babies in Ireland, ranking #169 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Conn 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 Conn
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Conn also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Conn over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Conn 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 Conn
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Conn — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Conn
What does the name Conn mean?
Either "chief," from the Irish conn meaning sense or reason, or "hound," from cú. The two cannot be separated.
Who was Conn Cétchathach?
Conn of the Hundred Battles, a High King in the traditional reckoning, from whom Connacht takes its name.
Is Connacht named after him?
Yes — the Connachta are his descendants in the traditional genealogies, and the province is named for them.
How popular is Conn?
169th in Ireland and 215th in Northern Ireland.
Is Conn a girl's or a boy's name?
Conn is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Conn?
Conn has 1 syllable.
Is Conn a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Conn currently ranks #169 in Ireland. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.