boy's name
Eoghan
OH-in
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 8,085
Northern Ireland
#99
2024 births
Eoghan is a boy's name of Irish origin usually read as "born of the yew," and it gives County Tyrone its Irish name. It ranks 99th in Northern Ireland and is stable in our data.
- Eoghan is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2009, when 223 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 1,094 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1964.
Eoghan 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 | 65 |
| 1970s | 433 |
| 1980s | 827 |
| 1990s | 1,356 |
| 2000s | 1,638 |
| 2010s | 1,259 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 350 |
What Eoghan means
Eoghan is usually read as born of the yew, from eo, a yew tree, and a second element meaning birth. A competing derivation treats it as a borrowing of the Greek Eugenios, well-born, and the two cannot be fully separated.
Where Eoghan comes from
Eoghan has two proposed derivations that have never been resolved. The native reading takes eo, the yew, with gein, birth — the yew was the longest-lived and most significant of Irish sacred trees, and it appears in several old names. The borrowing reading treats Eoghan as an Irish adaptation of the Greek Eugenios, well-born, which came in with Latin Christianity. Its bearer is Eógan mac Néill, a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages and founder of the Cenél nEógain, whose territory is Tír Eoghain — the land of Eoghan — which anglicized to Tyrone. Owen is the standard English form, though the Welsh Owain is a separate Brittonic name, and Eoin, the Irish for John, is a third distinct name frequently confused with both. Three different names collapse into Owen in English records.
Eoghan in use
Eoghan ranks 99th in Northern Ireland with 24 births in 2024 and 132nd in Ireland, and our records mark it stable with a peak in 2015 and carry it from 1989. It is rare elsewhere — 2,439th in England and Wales, 5,047th in the United States. Its association with Tyrone keeps it particularly strong in the west of Ulster.
How popular is Eoghan?
In 2025, Eoghan was given to 41 babies in Ireland, ranking #132 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Eoghan 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 Eoghan is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Eóghan | Eóghan is a rare spelling of Eoghan, written with a fada and recorded 42 times, mostly in Ireland. | 42 |
Names that peaked alongside Eoghan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Eoghan also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Eoghan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Eoghan 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 Eoghan
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Eoghan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Eoghan
What does the name Eoghan mean?
It is usually read as "born of the yew," though a competing derivation makes it a borrowing of the Greek Eugenios, well-born.
Is Eoghan the same as Eoin?
No. Eoin is the Irish for John. The two are separate names that both anglicize toward Owen.
Is Eoghan related to Tyrone?
Yes. Tír Eoghain, the land of Eoghan, is the Irish name for the county.
How do you pronounce Eoghan?
OH-in, close to Owen.
How popular is the name Eoghan?
In 2025, Eoghan was given to 41 babies in Ireland, ranking #132 that year. It is a rare choice.
Is Eoghan a girl's or a boy's name?
Eoghan is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Eoghan most popular?
Eoghan peaked in 2009, when 223 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
Is Eoghan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Eoghan currently ranks #99 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.