Breffni

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Breffni: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Breffni: Recorded since 1966, with a gap of 23 years, its highest recorded position is #229, and it was last ranked in 2019.

1registrar recorded it
24times a registrar ranked it
54years from first to last
#229highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Breffni's record

Absent from every published list for 23 years inside its own recorded period, then ranked again. Names by longest absence

Region

Rising

among girls in Republic of Ireland · 1969–1995

View as table

Republic of Ireland · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1969	#443
1970	#447
1972	#471
1973	#402
1974	#428
1977	#429
1980	#483
1981	#533
1983	#529
1984	#516
1986	#521
1992	#523
1993	#448
1995	#417

VerifiedSource: CSO Ireland — Irish Babies' Names.Confidence: high.

See all Republic of Ireland names · Source: CSO Ireland — Irish Babies' Names

What the data shows

RisingRepublic of Ireland · Girls

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 10 of the 54 years from 1966 to 2019.

Official data for Republic of Ireland, 1966–2019 · CSO Ireland. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1966
First recorded at #229 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1966 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1966–2019
Highest recorded position: #229 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1966 (recorded 1966–2019).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2019
Most recently recorded at #764 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2019.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Breffni appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 14 ranked years and 51 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Boys, from 1966.

Breffni across 2 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.

Breffni'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 · Boys	#229 (1966)	#229 (1966)	#764 (2019)	10 of 54	40 (1966–2019)	6 (1989)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#443 (1969)	#402 (1973)	#417 (1995)	14 of 27	51 (1969–1995)	5 (1973)

Breffni 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 Breffni in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	3	1 of 10	3
1970sbusiest	20	5 of 10	4
1980s	16	5 of 10	3
1990s	12	3 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 4 births a year.

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

Breffni appears in

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

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for Republic of Ireland from 1966 to 2019. Highest recorded position: #229 in Republic of Ireland in 1966.

Breffni's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#764	3	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#417	5	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#448	4	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#324	3	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#232	6	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#303	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#521	3	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#516	3	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#529	3	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#533	3	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#483	4	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#429	5	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#258	5	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#265	5	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#428	4	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#321	3	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#402	5	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#471	3	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#279	4	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#280	4	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#447	3	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#443	3	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#229	4	High	Verified

Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1966 and 2019, ranked in 22 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #229, first reached in 1966.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 6 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1989.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

Its record falls into 9 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 23 years.

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.

5decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 5 decades →
9 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
9separate stretches the record falls into6 to 9 separate stretches →
23 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period20 or more years missing →
#764position in 2019, its most recent recorded year
1registrars publishing it in more than one category listIn one registrar's lists →
6births registered in its largest year, 1989Under 25 births →

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.

Breege · #272, 25y
Breeze · #1617, 22y
Brenda · #41, 71y
Brendan · #16, 62y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, 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.

Arn · #229, 20y
Saulius · #229, 25y
Gudny · #230, 21y
Dainius · #231, 26y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Cathrin · #229, 31y
Eimer · #229, 40y
Godfrey · #229, 14y
Katja · #229, 48y

Breffni was ranked #229 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1966. 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.

Breffni 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 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Breffni without appearing here.

Breffni moved ahead of

Dianne Compare
In 1994 they stood at #523 and #456 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1995 that had become #417 and #516.
Heidi Compare
In 1994 they stood at #523 and #523 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1995 that had become #417 and #516.
Marilyn Compare
In 1994 they stood at #516 and #414 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1995 that had become #417 and #516.
Nina Compare
In 1994 they stood at #521 and #458 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1995 that had become #417 and #516.

Moved ahead of Breffni

Erin Compare
In 1979 they stood at #429 and #468 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1980 that had become #483 and #258.
Zara Compare
In 1980 they stood at #429 and #518 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1981 that had become #533 and #335.
Jamie Compare
In 1980 they stood at #483 and #542 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1981 that had become #533 and #351.
Shannon Compare
In 1980 they stood at #483 and #542 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1981 that had become #533 and #363.

Moved the opposite way to Breffni

Aaron Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 while Aaron went from #171 to #33.
Adam Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 while Adam went from #229 to #6.
Alexander Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 while Alexander went from #114 to #36.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 while Benjamin went from #185 to #75.

Moved the same way as Breffni

Adrian Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 and Adrian from #80 to #199.
Alan Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 and Alan from #23 to #129.
Andrew Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 and Andrew from #31 to #68.
Anthony Compare
Between 1966 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Breffni went from #229 to #764 and Anthony from #12 to #94.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for Republic of Ireland from 1966 to 2019. Highest recorded position: #229 in Republic of Ireland in 1966. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Breffni

Breffni at a glance

What stands out in Breffni's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Breffni across 2 official records

Breffni by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Breffni appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Breffni

Breffni and the names beside it

Breffni moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Breffni

Moved the opposite way to Breffni

Moved the same way as Breffni

Breffni at a glance

What stands out in Breffni's record

Breffni across 2 official records

Breffni by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Breffni appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Breffni

Breffni and the names beside it

Breffni moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Breffni

Moved the opposite way to Breffni

Moved the same way as Breffni