girl's name
Éabha
AY-va
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (Ireland)
- Births on record 5,125
Ireland
#2
2025 births
Éabha is a girl's name of Irish origin, the Irish form of Eve, meaning "life" or "living one." It ranked second in Ireland in 2025 with 294 births, making it one of the most popular Irish-language names in the country.
- Éabha is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2024, when 311 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 153 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1990.
Éabha over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1990s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 49 |
| 2000s | 872 |
| 2010s | 1,310 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,718 |
What Éabha means
Éabha means life, or the living one. It is the Irish form of Eve, and carries the same sense as the Hebrew Chavah from which Eve descends — a name understood as belonging to the mother of all living.
Where Éabha comes from
Éabha is the Irish rendering of Eve, which comes through Latin Eva from the Hebrew Chavah, connected to a root meaning to live or to breathe. Irish took the biblical name and reshaped it to its own sound system, and the result is pronounced quite unlike its English cousin — AY-va rather than EEV. Because the spelling suggests nothing obvious to an English reader, Éabha is sometimes assumed to be a modern coinage, but it is the standard Irish-language form of one of the oldest names in continuous use anywhere.
Éabha in use
Éabha was the second most popular girls' name in Ireland in 2025 with 294 births, behind Lily. It is also a clear case of Irish parents choosing the Irish spelling: the unaccented Eabha ranks 421st in the same year with nine births. Our Irish series records the name from 1990 onward, so its rise is recent and steep rather than a revival of anything older.
How popular is Éabha?
In 2025, Éabha was given to 294 babies in Ireland, ranking #2 that year. It is one of the most popular names in Ireland.
Where Éabha 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 Éabha is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Eabha | Eabha is a spelling of Éabha, used in Northern Ireland, where it ranks #13. | 3,176 |
| Eábha | Eábha is a rare spelling of Éabha, written with a fada and recorded 26 times, mostly in Ireland. | 26 |
| Èabha | Èabha is a rare spelling of Éabha, written with a grave accent and recorded 3 times, mostly in Ireland. | 3 |
Names that peaked alongside Éabha
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Éabha also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Éabha over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Éabha
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.
Éabha 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 Éabha
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Éabha — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Éabha
What does the name Éabha mean?
Éabha means "life" or "living one." It is the Irish form of Eve.
How do you pronounce Éabha?
AY-va, two syllables. It sounds nothing like the English Eve despite being the same name.
Is Éabha the Irish for Eve?
Yes. Éabha is the standard Irish-language form of Eve, not a modern invention.
How popular is Éabha in Ireland?
It was the second most popular girls' name in Ireland in 2025, with 294 births.
Is Éabha a girl's or a boy's name?
Éabha is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Éabha?
Éabha has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Éabha?
Éabha is usually shortened to Ea.
Is Éabha a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Éabha currently ranks #2 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.