boy's name
Darragh
DAR-a
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 15,865
Ireland
#19
2025 births
Darragh is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "oak" or "oak grove," from the Irish dair. It ranked 19th in Ireland in 2025 with 205 births and is far more common there than anywhere else in our records.
- Darragh is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2007, when 475 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 219 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1965.
Darragh 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 | 58 |
| 1970s | 588 |
| 1980s | 1,136 |
| 1990s | 2,317 |
| 2000s | 3,830 |
| 2010s | 3,427 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,401 |
What Darragh means
Darragh means oak, or a grove of oaks. The oak carried particular weight in early Ireland as the tree of strength and endurance, and it stands behind a large number of Irish place names and surnames.
Where Darragh comes from
Darragh comes from the Irish dair, an oak, or from doire, an oak grove — the same word that gives Derry its name. It functions both as an anglicisation of the given name Dara and as a surname-derived name from Ó Dubhda and related families. The oak was the tree associated with the druids, whose name is often connected with it, and Irish law tracts ranked it among the nobles of the wood. As a first name Darragh is a modern revival rather than a continuous inheritance, and it is used for both sexes in some families, though the records are overwhelmingly male.
Darragh in use
Darragh ranked 19th in Ireland in 2025 with 205 births and 53rd in Northern Ireland, against 1,356 in England and Wales and 8,874 in the United States. That is one of the largest Ireland-to-elsewhere gaps among the names in our Irish top twenty, which makes it a strongly local choice rather than an exportable one.
How popular is Darragh?
In 2025, Darragh was given to 205 babies in Ireland, ranking #19 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Darragh 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 Darragh
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Darragh also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Darragh over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Darragh
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.
Darragh 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 Darragh
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Darragh — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Darragh
What does the name Darragh mean?
Darragh means "oak" or "oak grove," from the Irish dair.
How do you pronounce Darragh?
DAR-a, two syllables. The gh is silent.
Is Darragh a boy's or a girl's name?
Overwhelmingly a boy's name in the records, though it is occasionally used for girls.
Is Darragh connected to Derry?
Both come from the same Irish word for an oak grove, doire.
How popular is the name Darragh?
In 2025, Darragh was given to 205 babies in Ireland, ranking #19 that year. It is a rare choice.
How many syllables are in Darragh?
Darragh has 2 syllables.
When was Darragh most popular?
Darragh peaked in 2007, when 475 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Darragh?
Darragh is usually shortened to Dar and Dara.
Is Darragh a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Darragh currently ranks #19 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.