Move over Fiadh and Éabha, there’s a new top Irish baby name in town.
There are certain Irish names that come out of the woodwork and surge to inexplicable popularity in any given year.
A few years ago, the baby girl name Fiadh was all the rage, and it was by far the most popular name for girls in Ireland at one point.
The same thing happened with the name Éabha. Now, it’s an Irish name for baby boys surging in popularity in 2026.
The most popular Irish name for baby boys – taking over the rankings
The Irish name Rían shook things up in the baby name circuit in 2025 when it pushed out Jack for the first time in years as the most popular name for baby boys in Ireland.
While many other Irish names were already in the rankings for decades, Rían had never before reached the top spot name popularity research began at the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in 1964.
The name comes from the Irish word for king, ‘rí’, and translates to ‘little king’. Many will be very familiar with anglicised version of the name, both a forename and surname, Ryan.
Rían – little king, (ree-an)
In 2026, the Irish name Rían shows no signs of slowing down in popularity as it remains in the top position of popular baby names for boys in Ireland.
It will be interesting to see when the next CSO rankings are revealed for the whole year if it manages to secure its position.
Rían overtook Jack as the most popular name for boys in Ireland for the first time in a decade. Let’s see if the Irish name keeps Jack off the top podium for the next year, too.
Other popular Irish names – new entrants to the top 100
One other Irish name appears to be surging in popularity this year, too, and that Irish name is Ríadh. Pronounced ree-ah, this was one of the new entries to the top 100 in 2025, and it seems to be quickly gaining popularity.
The name comes frot the Old Irish word ‘rígain’, which means ‘queen’ or ‘royal’. The anglicised version of this name would be Rea or Ria.
New entrants to the top 100 for baby boys boys include Irish names Naoise, Conall, and the Gaelicisation of the English name Teddy, Teidí.
