girl's name
Fianna
FEE-uh-na
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (E&W)
- Births on record 612
Northern Ireland
#168
2024 births
Fianna is a girl's name taken from the warrior bands of Irish legend, and it is a collective noun rather than a personal name. It ranks 168th in Northern Ireland and is stable in our data.
- Fianna is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in US records in 2015, when 24 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in US records.
- Today about 1 in 49,148 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 2000.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Fianna over time
Births per decade in the United States, 2000s to 2020s. Fianna is more popular in Northern Ireland — see the country table below. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 2000s | 80 |
| 2010s | 140 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 49 |
What Fianna means
Fianna means a band of warriors. It is plural in Irish — the singular is fian — so the name is grammatically a group rather than an individual, which is unusual for a given name.
Where Fianna comes from
Fianna is the Irish for the roving warrior bands of the Fenian Cycle, led by Fionn mac Cumhaill and including Oisín, Diarmuid and Caoilte. In the literature they are young men outside the ordinary structures of kinship and land, living by hunting and fighting — a recognizable social institution rather than a purely mythic one, and comparable to bands recorded across early Europe. The word gave the nineteenth-century Fenians their name, and Fianna Fáil, founded in 1926, takes its name from the same source; Fianna Éireann was the republican youth movement. So a girls' name in Northern Ireland carries the name of an Irish political party, which is a specific thing to know before choosing it. Fiona, by contrast, was invented by James Macpherson in the eighteenth century and is unrelated.
Fianna in use
Fianna ranks 168th in Northern Ireland with 12 births in 2024 and is stable in our data with a peak in 2015. Our records carry it from 2000. It appears in almost no other market — 13,110th in the United States — and does not chart in the Republic, which given the political resonance of the word is worth noting.
How popular is Fianna?
In 2024, Fianna was given to 12 babies in England and Wales, ranking #168 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Where Fianna is used
England and Wales figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year. The historical chart above uses US records, the only series running back to 1880. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Fianna
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Fianna also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Fianna over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Fianna 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.
- Dutch
- Fiona
Sibling names for Fianna
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Fianna — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Fianna
What does the name Fianna mean?
Fianna means "a band of warriors" — it is plural in Irish, so the name is grammatically a group.
Who were the Fianna?
The roving warrior bands of the Fenian Cycle, led by Fionn mac Cumhaill.
Is Fianna related to Fiona?
No. Fiona was invented by James Macpherson in the eighteenth century.
Is Fianna a political name?
The word is — Fianna Fáil and the Fenians both take their name from the same source.
How popular is the name Fianna?
In 2024, Fianna was given to 12 babies in England and Wales, ranking #168 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Is Fianna a girl's or a boy's name?
Fianna is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Fianna?
Fianna has 3 syllables.
When was Fianna most popular?
Fianna peaked in 2015, when 24 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Fianna a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Fianna currently ranks #168 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.