girl's name
Laoise
LEE-shuh
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (Ireland)
- Births on record 1,678
Ireland
#124
2025 births
Laoise is a girl's name of Irish origin, usually read as "radiant," and it shares its spelling with the county of Laois. It ranks 124th in Ireland and appears in no other market we hold.
- Laoise is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2013, when 67 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 1,180 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1971.
Laoise over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1970s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 25 |
| 1980s | 40 |
| 1990s | 178 |
| 2000s | 460 |
| 2010s | 513 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 270 |
What Laoise means
Laoise is generally read as radiant or light, taken as a form of Luigsech, meaning belonging to the god Lugh. A second reading treats it as the Irish for Lucy, which would give the same sense by a different route.
Where Laoise comes from
Laoise is usually derived from Luigsech, a name built on Lugh, the god of the Tuatha Dé Danann associated with skill, light and the harvest — Lughnasadh is his festival. That would make the name mean belonging to Lugh, and the radiant gloss follows from the god rather than from any word for light. Laoise also serves as the Irish equivalent of Lucy, from the Latin lux, light, which arrives at the same meaning independently. The county of Laois takes its name from the Loígis, a people who held the territory, and the spelling coincides without the two being connected. Reference sites often give the meaning simply as light, which skips the god entirely and loses what is distinctive about the name.
Laoise in use
Laoise ranks 124th in Ireland with 38 births in 2025 and is stable in our data with a peak in 2013. Our records carry it from 1971. It appears in no other market we hold at all — not even Northern Ireland — which makes it one of the most strictly Republic-of-Ireland names in the top 200.
How popular is Laoise?
In 2025, Laoise was given to 38 babies in Ireland, ranking #124 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Laoise 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.
Names that peaked alongside Laoise
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Laoise also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Laoise over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Laoise 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
- Lucy
Sibling names for Laoise
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Laoise — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Laoise
What does the name Laoise mean?
It is usually read as "radiant," from Luigsech — belonging to the god Lugh.
How do you pronounce Laoise?
LEE-shuh, two syllables.
Is Laoise related to County Laois?
No. The county is named for the Loígis people; the spellings coincide.
Is Laoise the Irish for Lucy?
It serves that way, and Lucy's Latin root also means light — the two arrive at the same sense separately.
How popular is the name Laoise?
In 2025, Laoise was given to 38 babies in Ireland, ranking #124 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Laoise a girl's or a boy's name?
Laoise is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Laoise most popular?
Laoise peaked in 2013, when 67 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Laoise a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Laoise currently ranks #124 in Ireland. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.