boy's name
Ruairi
ROO-uh-ree
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 5,852
Northern Ireland
#61
2024 births
Ruairi is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "red king," borne by Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. It ranks 61st in Northern Ireland and 68th in Ireland, and it is rising in both.
- Ruairi is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in Ireland in 2012, when 99 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in Ireland.
- First appears in birth records in 1966.
Ruairi over time
Births per decade in Ireland, 1960s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2021, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 19 |
| 1970s | 233 |
| 1980s | 332 |
| 1990s | 339 |
| 2000s | 663 |
| 2010s | 792 |
| 2020s (to 2021) | 387 |
What Ruairi means
Ruairi means red king, from ruadh, red or red-haired, and rí, a king. Ruadh describes the red-brown coloring of hair rather than a bright red, so the sense is a king with red hair.
Where Ruairi comes from
Ruairi is the Irish spelling, from the older Ruaidhrí, combining ruadh, red, with rí, king. Its bearer is Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, king of Connacht and the last High King of Ireland, who took the title in 1166, lost effective power after the Norman invasion of 1169, submitted to Henry the Second under the Treaty of Windsor in 1175 and retired to the monastery at Cong, where he died in 1198. He is the hinge between independent Gaelic Ireland and eight centuries of English involvement, which gives the name a weight in Ireland it does not carry elsewhere. Rory is the standard anglicization and Ruairidh the Scottish Gaelic spelling. The name is unconnected to the Norse Rurik despite the resemblance.
Ruairi in use
Ruairi ranks 61st in Northern Ireland with 42 births in 2024 and 68th in Ireland with 85 births in 2025, and it is rising in our data with a peak in 2021. It reaches 138th in Scotland and 497th in England and Wales, so it travels further than most Irish-spelled names. Our records carry it from 1988.
How popular is Ruairi?
In 2021, Ruairi was given to 3 babies in Ireland, ranking #804 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Ruairi 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 Ruairi is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Ruairí | Ruairí is Ruairi written with a fada in Ireland, and the spelling parents there overwhelmingly choose: it ranks #68 in Ireland, against #804 for Ruairi. | 520 |
Names that peaked alongside Ruairi
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ruairi also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ruairi over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Ruairi 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.
- Irish
- Rory
Sibling names for Ruairi
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ruairi — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ruairi
What does the name Ruairi mean?
Ruairi means "red king," from ruadh, red-haired, and rí, a king.
Who was Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair?
The last High King of Ireland, who lost power after the Norman invasion and died a monk at Cong in 1198.
Is Ruairi the same as Rory?
Yes. Rory is the anglicization; Ruairi is the Irish spelling.
How popular is Ruairi?
Sixty-first in Northern Ireland and 68th in Ireland.
Is Ruairi a girl's or a boy's name?
Ruairi is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Ruairi a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ruairi currently ranks #61 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.