boy's name
Ruadhan
ROO-awn
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 100 (Ireland)
- Births on record 789
Northern Ireland
#81
2024 births
Ruadhan is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "little red one," from ruadh. It ranks 81st in Northern Ireland and belongs to the saint who, by tradition, cursed Tara.
- Ruadhan is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2025, when 50 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in Ireland.
- Today about 1 in 11,214 babies in Ireland is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1973.
Ruadhan 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 | 3 |
| 1980s | 3 |
| 1990s | 34 |
| 2000s | 102 |
| 2010s | 243 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 196 |
What Ruadhan means
Ruadhan means little red one, from ruadh, red or red-haired, with a diminutive ending. Ruadh describes the red-brown of hair and cattle rather than a bright red, so red-haired is the practical reading.
Where Ruadhan comes from
Ruadhan is the Irish Rúadhán, from ruadh, red, with the diminutive -án — the same construction as Ronán from rón and Odhrán from odhar. Its saint is Ruadhán of Lorrha, counted among the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, who founded a monastery in what is now County Tipperary and died around 584. The story attached to him is the cursing of Tara: when the High King Diarmait mac Cerbaill violated the sanctuary of Ruadhán's monastery to seize a fugitive, the saint and his fellow clerics fasted against the king and cursed the royal site, and Tara was said to have been abandoned afterward. The tale is a later composition making a point about church authority over kings rather than a record of events. Ruadhán is also related to the plant name for the rowan through the same red root.
Ruadhan in use
Ruadhan ranks 81st in Northern Ireland with 29 births in 2024 and 120th in Ireland. Our records mark it stable with a peak in 2017 and carry it from 1973. It is almost unused elsewhere — 2,696th in England and Wales, 535th in Scotland — which puts it among the most strictly Irish names in the top hundred.
How popular is Ruadhan?
In 2025, Ruadhan was given to 4 babies in Ireland, ranking #679 that year. It is one of the most popular names in Ireland.
Where Ruadhan 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 Ruadhan is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Ruadhán | Ruadhán is Ruadhan written with a fada in Ireland, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #120 in Ireland, against #679 for Ruadhan. | 242 |
Names that peaked alongside Ruadhan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ruadhan also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ruadhan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ruadhan 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
- Rowan
Sibling names for Ruadhan
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ruadhan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ruadhan
What does the name Ruadhan mean?
Ruadhan means "little red one," from the Irish ruadh with a diminutive ending.
How do you pronounce Ruadhan?
ROO-awn. The dh is silent.
Is Ruadhan the same as Rowan?
They share the red root behind the rowan tree, but Rowan is an English name and the two developed separately.
Who was Saint Ruadhán?
A founder of the monastery at Lorrha, remembered for the tradition that he cursed Tara after a king violated his sanctuary.
How popular is the name Ruadhan?
In 2025, Ruadhan was given to 4 babies in Ireland, ranking #679 that year. It is one of the most popular names in Ireland.
Is Ruadhan a girl's or a boy's name?
Ruadhan is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Ruadhan most popular?
Ruadhan peaked in 2025, when 50 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Ruadhan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ruadhan currently ranks #81 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.