boy's name
Daire
DAW-ruh
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 3,865
Northern Ireland
#48
2024 births
Daire is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "fruitful" or "fertile," borne by the man who owns the brown bull at the center of Ireland's national epic. It ranks 48th in Northern Ireland.
- Daire is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2025, when 96 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 1,725 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1964.
Daire 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 | 19 |
| 1970s | 119 |
| 1980s | 231 |
| 1990s | 427 |
| 2000s | 590 |
| 2010s | 665 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 461 |
What Daire means
Daire means fruitful or fertile. The reading is agricultural in origin and was applied to people as a mark of prosperity, which fits its literary bearer, a cattle-lord whose wealth drives the plot.
Where Daire comes from
Daire is the Irish Dáire, generally read as fruitful or fertile, and it is one of the oldest recorded Irish names — it appears repeatedly in the genealogies and in ogham inscriptions, and several figures called Dáire appear in early mythology, some of them thought to be reflexes of a divine bull figure. Its best-known bearer is Dáire mac Fiachna, who owns the Donn Cuailnge, the brown bull of Cooley, and whose refusal to lend it after a drunken insult from Medb's messengers starts the war of the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Modern Irish also has doire, an oak grove, which gives Derry its name, and the two words are frequently confused because they sound similar — but Dáire the personal name is the fruitful word, not the oak one.
Daire in use
Daire ranks 48th in Northern Ireland with 47 births in 2024 and 89th in Ireland, and it is rising in our data with a peak in 2020. Our records carry it only from 1992, so like Daithí it is a revival rather than a name in continuous use. It is essentially unused elsewhere — 4,720th in England and Wales.
How popular is Daire?
In 2025, Daire was given to 26 babies in Ireland, ranking #249 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Daire 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 Daire is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Dáire | Dáire is Daire written with a fada, used in Ireland, where it ranks #89. | 368 |
Names that peaked alongside Daire
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Daire also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Daire over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Daire 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 Daire
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Daire — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Daire
What does the name Daire mean?
Daire means "fruitful" or "fertile," from the Irish Dáire.
Is Daire related to Derry?
No. Derry is from doire, an oak grove. The words sound similar but are separate.
Who was Dáire mac Fiachna?
The owner of the brown bull of Cooley, whose refusal to lend it begins the war of the Táin.
How do you pronounce Daire?
DAW-ruh, two syllables.
How popular is the name Daire?
In 2025, Daire was given to 26 babies in Ireland, ranking #249 that year. It is a rare choice.
Is Daire a girl's or a boy's name?
Daire is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Daire most popular?
Daire peaked in 2025, when 96 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Daire a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Daire currently ranks #48 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.