boy's name
Eanna
AY-nuh
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
- Births on record 1,530
Ireland
#87
as Éanna, 2025
Eanna is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unresolved, borne by the founder of Ireland's first monastic community on the Aran Islands. It ranks 87th in Ireland and is at its peak in our records now.
- Eanna is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2025, when 66 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- First appears in birth records in 1964.
Eanna over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2022, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 15 |
| 1970s | 39 |
| 1980s | 148 |
| 1990s | 229 |
| 2000s | 264 |
| 2010s | 397 |
| 2020s (to 2022) | 340 |
What Eanna means
Eanna has no settled meaning. Bird-like is the reading usually given, taking the first element from én, a bird, and it is plausible without being demonstrated — the name is old enough that its construction is no longer clear.
Where Eanna comes from
Éanna is the modern spelling of the Irish Énna, and its derivation is uncertain. The common gloss is bird-like, from én, a bird, which fits the sound but rests on nothing more than that. Its bearer is Saint Enda of Aran — Éanna in Irish — who founded a monastery on Inishmore around 484 after, by tradition, a career as a warrior king in Oriel that his sister Fanchea persuaded him to abandon. His community is generally counted the first true monastery in Ireland, and the men who trained there included Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Brendan the Navigator and Finnian of Moville, which makes Inishmore the source of much of what followed. The Irish for the Aran Islands' patron and the English Enda are the same name; Enda is also a separate modern given name in its own right.
Eanna in use
Éanna ranks 87th in Ireland with 66 births in 2025 and 320th in Northern Ireland, and it is rising in our data with a peak in 2025 — a name at its high point rather than a revival past it. Our records carry it from 1964, the earliest year our Irish data reaches. It does not appear in the British or American tables.
How popular is Eanna?
In 2022, Eanna was given to 4 babies in Ireland, ranking #708 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Eanna 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 Eanna is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Éanna | Éanna is Eanna written with a fada in Ireland, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #87 in Ireland, against #708 for Eanna. | 426 |
Names that peaked alongside Eanna
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Eanna also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Eanna over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Eanna 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 Eanna
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Eanna — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Eanna
What does the name Éanna mean?
It is unresolved. Bird-like is the usual gloss, from én, a bird, but it has never been demonstrated.
Who was Saint Enda?
The founder of the monastery on Inishmore around 484, generally counted the first true monastery in Ireland.
How do you pronounce Éanna?
AY-nuh, two syllables.
Is Éanna the same as Enda?
Yes — Enda is the English form of the same name, and it is also used independently.
How popular is the name Eanna?
In 2022, Eanna was given to 4 babies in Ireland, ranking #708 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Eanna a girl's or a boy's name?
Eanna is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Eanna most popular?
Eanna peaked in 2025, when 66 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Eanna a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Eanna currently ranks #87 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.