Dearbhail

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Dearbhail: Recorded since 1970, it reached #174 in 1998, and it was last ranked in 2011.

2registrars recorded it
34times a registrar ranked it
42years from first to last
#174highest recorded position
10groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in Northern Ireland · 1997–2007

View as table

Northern Ireland · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#241
1998	#174
1999	#291
2000	#220
2001	#267
2002	#339
2004	#372
2005	#226
2007	#413

VerifiedSource: NISRA — Northern Ireland Baby Names.Confidence: high.

See all Northern Ireland names · Source: NISRA — Northern Ireland Baby Names

What the data shows

FallingNorthern Ireland · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 25 of the 42 years from 1970 to 2011.

In 2007: #413 among girls in Northern Ireland, #842 among girls in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1970–2011 · NISRA. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1970
First recorded at #396 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1970 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1997–2007
Highest recorded position: #174 among girls in Northern Ireland, in 1998 (recorded 1997–2007).
Northern Ireland · Girls
Most recent2011
Most recently recorded at #937 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2011.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Dearbhail appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 25 years beginning in 1970, and has registered 104 births with the name.

Dearbhail 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.

Dearbhail'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	#396 (1970)	#344 (1988)	#937 (2011)	25 of 42	104 (1970–2011)	8 (1988)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#241 (1997)	#174 (1998)	#413 (2007)	9 of 11	47 (1997–2007)	10 (1998)

Dearbhail 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 Dearbhail in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1970s	22	6 of 10	4
1980s	26	6 of 10	4
1990sbusiest	32	7 of 10	5
2000s	21	5 of 10	4
2010s	3	1 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1990s were its busiest decade — the 7 years of it this list covers, averaging 5 births a year.

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

Dearbhail appears in

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

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1970 to 2011. Highest recorded position: #174 in Northern Ireland in 1998.

Dearbhail'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
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#413	3	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	female	#226	7	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#372	3	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	female	#339	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#267	5	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#220	6	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#291	4	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#174	10	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#241	6	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#937	3	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#641	5	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#665	5	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#842	3	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#512	4	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#498	4	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#528	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#363	7	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#417	5	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#502	3	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#516	3	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#417	5	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#380	6	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#503	3	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#344	8	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#519	3	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#423	5	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#483	4	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#522	3	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#429	4	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#406	5	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#508	3	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#396	4	High	Verified

Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
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 2 registrars between 1970 and 2011, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #174, first reached in 1998.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 10 births, registered in Northern Ireland in 1998.

Its record falls into 11 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1997, and 27 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.

5decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 5 decades →
6 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
11separate stretches the record falls into10 or more separate stretches →
2 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period2 to 3 years missing →
#937position in 2011, its most recent recorded year
27 yearsyears between the first and last registrar to record itAcross 21 to 40 years →
10births registered in its largest year, 1998Under 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.

Deane · #255, 12y
Deanna · #207, 32y
Dearbhaile · #229, 21y
Dearbhla · #90, 57y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 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.

Rafferty · #172, 25y
Barra · #170, 32y
Cieran · #170, 31y
Imre · #179, 31y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

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

Kamila · #176, 50y
Sana · #172, 45y
Lia · #177, 43y
Livia · #177, 32y

Dearbhail was ranked #174 in Northern Ireland · Girls in 1998. 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.

Dearbhail 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 Dearbhail without appearing here.

Dearbhail moved ahead of

Carmel Compare
In 2008 they stood at #842 and #624 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #641 and #893.
Lorraine Compare
In 2008 they stood at #665 and #597 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #641 and #893.
Tracey Compare
In 2008 they stood at #665 and #665 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #641 and #893.
Tracy Compare
In 2008 they stood at #842 and #549 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #641 and #893.

Moved ahead of Dearbhail

Shania Compare
In 1998 they stood at #363 and #576 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1999 that had become #528 and #165.
Eabha Compare
In 1998 they stood at #363 and #496 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1999 that had become #528 and #220.
Ella Compare
In 1992 they stood at #417 and #456 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1993 that had become #516 and #234.
Heidi Compare
In 2006 they stood at #226 and #278 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2007 that had become #413 and #162.

Moved the opposite way to Dearbhail

Aisling Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 while Aisling went from #71 to #41.
Alexandra Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 while Alexandra went from #307 to #97.
Alice Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 while Alice went from #115 to #66.
Amelia Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 while Amelia went from #447 to #32.

Moved the same way as Dearbhail

Alison Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 and Alison from #69 to #136.
Alma Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 and Alma from #230 to #937.
Amanda Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 and Amanda from #57 to #299.
Angela Compare
Between 1970 and 2011 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Dearbhail went from #396 to #937 and Angela from #35 to #340.

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.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1970 to 2011. Highest recorded position: #174 in Northern Ireland in 1998. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Dearbhail

Dearbhail at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Dearbhail across 2 official records

Dearbhail by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Dearbhail appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Dearbhail

Dearbhail and the names beside it

Dearbhail moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Dearbhail

Moved the opposite way to Dearbhail

Moved the same way as Dearbhail

Dearbhail at a glance

Dearbhail across 2 official records

Dearbhail by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Dearbhail appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Dearbhail

Dearbhail and the names beside it

Dearbhail moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Dearbhail

Moved the opposite way to Dearbhail

Moved the same way as Dearbhail