Meabh

femaleIrish

The modern Irish form of the older name Medb (Anglicised 'Maeve'), traditionally associated with the mythological warrior-queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle.

Origin: Irish

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1976 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #17 in Northern Ireland in 2024. See regions.

Meabh: Recorded since 1976, its highest recorded position is #17, and it stood at #413 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
97times a registrar ranked it
50years from first to last
#17highest recorded position
22groupings it qualifies for
5names it appears alongside

MYAYV/ˈmʲeːw/

Compare Meabh Run Name Checker on Meabh

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (4) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Irish
Meaning: The modern Irish form of the older name Medb (Anglicised 'Maeve'), traditionally associated with the mythological warrior-queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle.
Pronunciation: MYAYV
Syllables: 1
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: female
Language family: Irish

Popularity

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1999–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1999	#3225
2002	#2868
2003	#4373
2006	#2781
2007	#5201
2011	#4049
2012	#5876
2013	#2887
2014	#2314
2015	#4103
2016	#2233
2017	#4063
2018	#1711
2019	#2040
2020	#3447
2021	#1286
2022	#1142
2023	#1288
2024	#952
2025	#1229

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 48 of the 50 years from 1976 to 2025.

In 2025: #413 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #1229 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1976–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1976
First recorded at #392 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1976 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #1229 among girls in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Girls

Meabh appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 48 years beginning in 1976, and has registered 1,355 births with the name.

Meabh across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Meabh's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#392 (1976)	#76 (2017)	#413 (2025)	48 of 50	1,355 (1976–2025)	81 (2017)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#139 (1997)	#17 (2024)	#17 (2024)	28 of 28	910 (1997–2024)	71 (2024)
England and Wales · Girls	#3225 (1999)	#952 (2024)	#1229 (2025)	20 of 27	249 (1999–2025)	37 (2024)

Meabh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Meabh in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1970s	8	2 of 10	4
1980s	59	10 of 10	6
1990s	192	10 of 10	19
2000s	442	10 of 10	44
2010sbusiest	594	10 of 10	59
2020s	60	6 of 10	10

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 59 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2017 and 2018, when recorded births fell by 70, from 81 to 11.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Meabh appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1976 and 2025, ranked in 48 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #17, first reached in 2024.

It held a top-100 place in 21 years, 15 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 81 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 2017.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1997, and 48 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Meabh was ranked #17 in Northern Ireland · Girls in 2024. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Eabha#13
Amelia#14
Sophie#14
Evie#16
Ellie#18
Anna#19
Clodagh#20
Mia#20

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Md. · #1082, 21y
Mea · #312, 26y
Meadbh · #202, 20y
Meadhbh · #142, 47y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Gail · #15, 47y
Dianne · #14, 48y
Saoirse · #12, 52y
Vicki · #12, 53y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1970 and 1979.

Daithi · #17, 37y
Jade · #17, 49y
Kasper · #17, 51y
Jesse · #18, 45y

Comparisons involving Meabh

Existing comparison pages where Meabh and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Meabh in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Meabh vs Taylor
Meabh and Taylor changed places 16 times in Republic of Ireland · Girls between 1993 and 2025, ending at #413 and #443.
Meabh · Taylor · 33 shared years, 1993–2025 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Meabh vs Lara
Meabh and Lara changed places 14 times in Republic of Ireland · Girls between 1976 and 2025, ending at #413 and #102.
Meabh · Lara · 48 shared years, 1976–2025 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Annie vs Meabh
Annie and Meabh changed places 12 times in Republic of Ireland · Girls between 1976 and 2025, ending at #33 and #413.
Annie · Meabh · 48 shared years, 1976–2025 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking

Order changes

Pairs where Meabh and another name exchanged position in a published list, taken as the final meaningful change.

Sarah vs Meabh
In Northern Ireland · Girls, Meabh moved into the top 50 at #37 in 2020 as Sarah fell out of it to #60, having been #37 the year before.
Sarah · Meabh · 28 shared years, 1997–2024 · One took the other's place near the top
See the 2020 Northern Ireland ranking

Compared inside Northern Ireland lists

Pairs involving Meabh measured in Northern Ireland's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Meabh at its highest position.

Isla vs Meabh
Both reached their highest recorded position in Northern Ireland · Girls within 2 years — Isla #1 in 2023, Meabh #17 in 2024.
Isla · Meabh · 21 shared years, 2004–2024 · Peaked in the same years
See the 2024 Northern Ireland ranking

Northern Ireland overview→

Meabh and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Meabh without appearing here.

Meabh moved ahead of

Tracy
In 2020 they stood at #3447 and #2449 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #1286 and #5581.
Belinda
In 2015 they stood at #4103 and #2945 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2016 that had become #2233 and #5785.
Kristine
In 2015 they stood at #4103 and #3252 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2016 that had become #2233 and #5785.
Donna
In 2020 they stood at #3447 and #3447 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #1286 and #4634.

Moved ahead of Meabh

Frida
In 2002 they stood at #2868 and #3409 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #2727.
Fiadh
In 2016 they stood at #2233 and #2757 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2017 that had become #4063 and #2502.
Ellinor
In 2019 they stood at #2040 and #4686 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #3447 and #2843.
Willow
In 2017 they stood at #76 and #77 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2018 that had become #387 and #50.

Moved the opposite way to Meabh

Poppy
Between 1990 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #201 to #413 while Poppy went from #517 to #105.
Bonnie
Between 1991 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #273 to #413 while Bonnie went from #393 to #64.
Kayla
Between 1991 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #273 to #413 while Kayla went from #515 to #130.
Ruby
Between 1991 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #273 to #413 while Ruby went from #515 to #36.

Moved the same way as Meabh

Elisabeth
Between 1995 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #162 to #413 and Elisabeth from #516 to #885.
Sofie
Between 1996 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #160 to #413 and Sofie from #471 to #718.
Shania
Between 1995 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #162 to #296 and Shania from #516 to #856.
Annie Compare
Between 1997 and 2024 in Northern Ireland · Girls, Meabh went from #139 to #17 and Annie from #112 to #11.

Meaning & Origin

The modern Irish form of the older name Medb (Anglicised 'Maeve'), traditionally associated with the mythological warrior-queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Irish

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Meabh is officially recorded

4 official registrars have recorded Meabh, between 1976 and 2025, in 48 of those 50 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Republic of Ireland	1976–2025	48	#76 in 2017
Northern Ireland	1997–2024	28	#17 in 2024
England and Wales	1999–2025	20	#952 in 2024
Scotland	2024	1	#351 in 2024

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

MYAYV/ˈmʲeːw/

Syllables: 1
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Meabh Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Meabh in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

England and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of Ireland

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Meabh

Meabh at a glance

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Meabh across 3 official records

Meabh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meabh appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Meabh

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Comparisons involving Meabh

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside Northern Ireland lists

Meabh and the names beside it

Meabh moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meabh

Moved the opposite way to Meabh

Moved the same way as Meabh

Meaning & Origin

Where Meabh is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Meabh Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Meabh at a glance

Meabh across 3 official records

Meabh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meabh appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Meabh

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Comparisons involving Meabh

Longest shared records

Order changes

Compared inside Northern Ireland lists

Meabh and the names beside it

Meabh moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meabh

Moved the opposite way to Meabh

Moved the same way as Meabh