girl's name
Eirinn
AIR-in
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (NI)
- Births on record 595
Northern Ireland
#131
2024 births
Eirinn is a girl's name taken from the dative case of Ireland's Irish name, so grammatically it means "to Ireland" rather than Ireland itself. It ranks 131st in Northern Ireland and is rising in our data.
- Eirinn is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Northern Ireland in 2023, when 20 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in Northern Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 993 babies in Northern Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 2000.
Eirinn over time
Births per decade in Northern Ireland, 2000s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2024, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 2000s | 36 |
| 2010s | 75 |
| 2020s (to 2024) | 79 |
What Eirinn means
Eirinn means to or in Ireland. Éirinn is the dative of Éire, the form used after prepositions, so the name is a grammatical case rather than the country's name in its plain form.
Where Eirinn comes from
Eirinn comes from Éirinn, the dative of Éire, which is the form that appears after prepositions — in Éirinn, in Ireland. Irish parents have taken it from the phrases they see in print rather than from the nominative, the same way Eireann was taken from the genitive. Éire itself descends from the Old Irish Ériu, a goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann and one of three sisters, with Banba and Fódla, who each asked the invading Milesians to name the island for her. Ériu's request was the one granted. So Ireland's name now supplies three separate girls' names in the charts — Eireann from the genitive, Eirinn from the dative, and Fódhla from a sister who lost — which is a grammatical spread no other country's name has produced.
Eirinn in use
Eirinn ranks 131st in Northern Ireland with 16 births in 2024 and 248th in Ireland, and it is rising in our data with a peak in 2023. Our records carry it only from 2000. Like Eireann, it is used more heavily in the North than in the Republic — 131st against 248th — which is the reverse of what the name's meaning would suggest.
How popular is Eirinn?
In 2024, Eirinn was given to 16 babies in Northern Ireland, ranking #131 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Eirinn is used
Figures for Northern Ireland 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. Data & sources.
How Eirinn is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Éirinn | Éirinn is a rare spelling of Eirinn, written with a fada and recorded 81 times, mostly in Ireland. | 81 |
Names that peaked alongside Eirinn
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Eirinn also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Eirinn over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Eirinn 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.
- Irish
- Erin
Sibling names for Eirinn
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Eirinn — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Eirinn
What does the name Eirinn mean?
It means "to Ireland" — Éirinn is the dative of Éire, the form used after prepositions.
What is the difference between Eirinn and Eireann?
Grammatical case. Eirinn is the dative, Eireann the genitive — two different forms of the same country's name.
Is Erin the same name?
Erin is the older anglicization, taken from the same set of Irish forms.
How popular is Eirinn?
131st in Northern Ireland and 248th in Ireland.
Is Eirinn a girl's or a boy's name?
Eirinn is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
Is Eirinn a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Eirinn currently ranks #131 in Northern Ireland. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.