boy's name
Daithi
DAH-hee
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (Ireland)
- Births on record 2,937
Northern Ireland
#17
2024 births
Daithi is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "swiftness" or "nimbleness." It ranks seventeenth in Northern Ireland and 59th in Ireland, and it is commonly used as the Irish for David even though the two names are unrelated.
- Daithi is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2025, when 185 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 7,476 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1973.
Daithi 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 | 13 |
| 1980s | 12 |
| 1990s | 17 |
| 2000s | 240 |
| 2010s | 829 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 856 |
What Daithi means
Daithi means swiftness or nimbleness, from the Irish dáithe. It describes quickness of movement rather than speed in the abstract, which suits its best-known bearer, a king remembered for how far and fast he campaigned.
Where Daithi comes from
Daithí comes from the Irish dáithe, swiftness or agility, and appears in early sources as Dathí or Nath Í. Its bearer is Dathí, traditionally counted the last pagan High King of Ireland, who by legend campaigned as far as the Alps and was killed there by a bolt of lightning; the annals place his death around 445, and Rathcroghan in County Roscommon holds a red sandstone pillar said to mark his grave. The claim is old rather than verifiable. In modern Ireland Daithí has become the standard Irish-language equivalent of David — Daithí Ó Sé and Daithí Ó Conaill are both known by it — but that pairing is one of convenience, based on sound, not descent: David is Hebrew, from dod, beloved. The two names simply have nothing in common beyond a first syllable.
Daithi in use
Daithí ranks seventeenth in Northern Ireland with 82 births in 2024 and 59th in Ireland with 185 births in 2025, one of the few names that sits higher in the North than in the Republic. Our records show it rising with a peak in 2025, and carry it from 1973 — a genuinely modern revival rather than a name in continuous use. It barely registers outside the island: 4,511th in England and Wales.
How popular is Daithi?
In 2025, Daithi was given to 6 babies in Ireland, ranking #522 that year. It is one of the most popular names in Ireland.
Where Daithi 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 Daithi is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Daithí | Daithí is Daithi written with a fada in Ireland, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #59 in Ireland, against #522 for Daithi. | 581 |
| Dáithí | Dáithí is Daithi written with a fada in Ireland, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #67 in Ireland, against #522 for Daithi. | 437 |
Names that peaked alongside Daithi
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Daithi also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Daithi over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Daithi 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 Daithi
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Daithi — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Daithi
What does the name Daithí mean?
Daithí means "swiftness" or "nimbleness," from the Irish dáithe.
Is Daithí the Irish for David?
It is used that way, but the names are unrelated. The pairing rests on sound; David is Hebrew and means beloved.
How do you pronounce Daithí?
DAH-hee. The th is a soft h sound, not the English th.
Who was Dathí?
Traditionally the last pagan High King of Ireland, said to have died by lightning while campaigning near the Alps.
How popular is the name Daithi?
In 2025, Daithi was given to 6 babies in Ireland, ranking #522 that year. It is one of the most popular names in Ireland.
Is Daithi a girl's or a boy's name?
Daithi is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Daithi most popular?
Daithi peaked in 2025, when 185 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Daithi a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Daithi currently ranks #17 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.