girl's name
Orlaith
OR-lah
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 4,712
Northern Ireland
#119
2024 births
Orlaith is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "golden princess," and it was borne by a sister of Brian Boru who was executed for adultery. It ranks 119th in Northern Ireland and 138th in Scotland.
- Orlaith is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2007, when 85 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 4,078 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1965.
Orlaith 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 | 12 |
| 1970s | 104 |
| 1980s | 236 |
| 1990s | 395 |
| 2000s | 610 |
| 2010s | 501 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 154 |
What Orlaith means
Orlaith means golden princess, or golden sovereignty. The compound joins ór, gold, with flaith, a lord, prince or sovereignty itself — so it describes rank rather than appearance, and the gold is the rank's quality.
Where Orlaith comes from
Orlaith anglicizes the Irish Órlaith, from ór, gold, and flaith, sovereignty. It belongs to the group of medieval Irish women's names built on flaith that also gives Gormlaith and Saorlaith, all of them aristocratic rather than general. Its historical bearer is Órlaith ingen Cennétig, sister of Brian Boru, married to the High King Máel Sechnaill II and put to death by him in 941 for adultery with his son — a fact the annals record without comment. The name is often written Orla in its shorter anglicization, and the two are counted separately in every register we hold. The gold element also appears in Órfhlaith, a variant spelling that makes the flaith more explicit.
Orlaith in use
Orlaith ranks 119th in Northern Ireland with 17 births in 2024, 138th in Scotland and 325th in Ireland, so Scotland uses it more heavily than the Republic does. It is falling in our data from a peak in 2007, and our records carry it from 1965. It reaches 598th in England and Wales. Orla, the shorter form, appears separately and ranks higher in several markets.
How popular is Orlaith?
In 2025, Orlaith was given to 11 babies in Ireland, ranking #362 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Orlaith 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 Orlaith is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Órlaith | Órlaith is a rare spelling of Orlaith, written with a fada and recorded 91 times, mostly in Ireland. | 91 |
Names that peaked alongside Orlaith
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Orlaith also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Orlaith over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Orlaith
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Orlaith 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.
- Danish
- Orla
Sibling names for Orlaith
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Orlaith — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Orlaith
What does the name Orlaith mean?
Orlaith means "golden princess," from ór, gold, and flaith, sovereignty.
How do you pronounce Orlaith?
OR-lah. The th is a soft h, not the English th.
Is Orlaith the same as Orla?
Orla is the shorter anglicization of the same name. Registers count them separately.
How popular is Orlaith?
119th in Northern Ireland and 138th in Scotland.
Is Orlaith a girl's or a boy's name?
Orlaith is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Orlaith?
Orlaith is usually shortened to Orla.
Is Orlaith a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Orlaith currently ranks #119 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.