girl's name
Eimear
EE-mer
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
- Births on record 7,636
Northern Ireland
#117
2024 births
Eimear is a girl's name of Irish origin borne by Cú Chulainn's wife, who by tradition had the six gifts of womanhood. It ranks 117th in Northern Ireland and is falling from a peak in 1996.
- Eimear is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 1996, when 222 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 2,136 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1964.
Eimear 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 | 100 |
| 1970s | 645 |
| 1980s | 1,491 |
| 1990s | 1,569 |
| 2000s | 1,357 |
| 2010s | 621 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 135 |
What Eimear means
Eimear has no settled meaning. Swift and ready have both been proposed for the Irish Éimhear, and neither is demonstrable — the name belongs to the oldest layer of Irish literature, where derivations are frequently lost.
Where Eimear comes from
Eimear anglicizes the Irish Éimhear or Emer, and its derivation is unresolved. She is the wife of Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle, and the Tochmarc Emire — the Wooing of Emer — is one of the longest tales in it: he must complete a series of impossible tasks set by her father before she will have him, and the courtship is conducted partly in riddles that only the two of them understand. Tradition credits her with the six gifts of womanhood — beauty, voice, sweet speech, needlework, wisdom and chastity — a list that says more about medieval scribes than about the character, who is sharp-tongued throughout. Her lament over Cú Chulainn's body closes the cycle. Eimear, Eimer, Éimhear and Emer all appear separately in Irish records.
Eimear in use
Eimear ranks 117th in Northern Ireland with 18 births in 2024 and 212th in Ireland, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 1996. Our records carry it from 1964, the earliest year our Irish data reaches. It is very rare outside the island at 4,075th in England and Wales, and the several spellings split its true total across separate entries.
How popular is Eimear?
In 2025, Eimear was given to 21 babies in Ireland, ranking #212 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Eimear 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 Eimear is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Éimear | Éimear is a rare spelling of Eimear, written with a fada and recorded 7 times, mostly in Ireland. | 7 |
Names that peaked alongside Eimear
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Eimear also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Eimear over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Eimear 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 Eimear
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Eimear — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Eimear
What does the name Eimear mean?
It is unresolved. Swift and ready have both been proposed and neither is demonstrable.
How do you pronounce Eimear?
EE-mer, two syllables.
Who was Emer?
Cú Chulainn's wife in the Ulster Cycle. The Wooing of Emer is one of its longest tales.
How popular is Eimear?
117th in Northern Ireland and 212th in Ireland.
Is Eimear a girl's or a boy's name?
Eimear is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
Is Eimear a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Eimear currently ranks #117 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.