boy's name
Páidí
PAW-djee
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 100 (Ireland)
- Births on record 1,285
Ireland
#12
2025 births
Páidí is a boy's name of Irish origin, an affectionate diminutive of Pádraig, the Irish form of Patrick. It ranked 12th in Ireland in 2025 with 239 births, having gone from a nickname to a registered first name in about twenty years.
- Páidí is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2025, when 248 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 188 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 2005.
Páidí over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 2000s 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 |
|---|---|
| 2000s | 26 |
| 2010s | 227 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 866 |
What Páidí means
Páidí means little Patrick. It is a pet form of Pádraig built with the diminutive -í, so its sense is affectionate rather than descriptive — Patrick itself comes from the Latin patricius, a nobleman.
Where Páidí comes from
Páidí is a diminutive of Pádraig, which Irish took from the Latin Patricius, meaning a patrician or nobleman, and which belongs above all to Saint Patrick. For most of its history Páidí was a household nickname rather than a name given at registration, in the way Paddy has been in English. Its move onto birth certificates is recent, and the Kerry footballer Páidí Ó Sé, an eight-time All-Ireland winner who later managed the county, is closely associated with the form. Some reference sites assign Páidí an unrelated Indian or Sanskrit derivation, which comes from confusion with the separate surname Paidi and has nothing to do with the Irish name.
Páidí in use
Páidí ranked 12th in Ireland in 2025 with 239 births — a striking position for a name our Irish records only carry from 2005. It is essentially unused outside Ireland, appearing in none of the British or American series we hold, which makes it one of the purest examples in our data of a name that is thriving in exactly one country.
How popular is Páidí?
In 2025, Páidí was given to 239 babies in Ireland, ranking #12 that year. It is one of the most popular names in Ireland.
Where Páidí 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 Páidí is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Paidi | Paidi is Páidí without the fada, and the spelling recorded in Ireland, where it ranks #184. | 338 |
| Paidí | Paidí is a rare spelling of Páidí, written with a fada and recorded 19 times, mostly in Ireland. | 19 |
| Páidi | Páidi is a rare spelling of Páidí, written with a fada and recorded 4 times, mostly in Ireland. | 4 |
| Pàidì | Pàidì is a rare spelling of Páidí, written with a grave accent and recorded 4 times, mostly in Ireland. | 4 |
Names that peaked alongside Páidí
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Páidí also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Páidí over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Páidí 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 Páidí
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Páidí — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Páidí
What does the name Páidí mean?
Páidí means "little Patrick." It is an affectionate diminutive of Pádraig.
How do you pronounce Páidí?
PAW-djee, two syllables.
Is Páidí a real first name or just a nickname?
It began as a household nickname but is now registered as a given name — it ranked 12th in Ireland in 2025.
Does Páidí have an Indian origin?
No. Some sites confuse it with the unrelated surname Paidi. Páidí is a diminutive of the Irish Pádraig.
Is Páidí a girl's or a boy's name?
Páidí is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Páidí?
Páidí has 2 syllables.
When was Páidí most popular?
Páidí peaked in 2025, when 248 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Páidí a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Páidí currently ranks #12 in Ireland. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.