Fergal

maleStatistical record

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

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

Fergal: Recorded since 1964, it reached #46 in 1970, and it stood at #4,270 in 2024.

3registrars recorded it
93times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#46highest recorded position
23groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2020
1997	#1257
1998	#1367
1999	#1130
2000	#1241
2001	#1595
2002	#1411
2003	#2189
2004	#1498
2005	#2418
2006	#2087
2007	#1885
2009	#3227
2010	#3332
2011	#3830
2012	#4805
2013	#3822
2014	#4632
2015	#3908
2020	#4608
2022	#4789
2024	#4270

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

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 56 of the 60 years from 1964 to 2023.

In 2022: #657 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #4789 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1964–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #93 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2023
Highest recorded position: #46 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1970 (recorded 1964–2023).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #4270 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Fergal appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 56 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 2,972 births with the name.

Fergal 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.

Fergal'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	#93 (1964)	#46 (1970)	#660 (2023)	56 of 60	2,972 (1964–2023)	170 (1972)
England and Wales · Boys	#2020 (1996)	#1130 (1999)	#4270 (2024)	22 of 29	144 (1996–2024)	12 (1999)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#210 (1997)	#151 (2001)	#334 (2020)	15 of 24	89 (1997–2020)	11 (2001)

Fergal by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

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 Fergal in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	370	6 of 10	62
1970sbusiest	1,393	10 of 10	139
1980s	652	10 of 10	65
1990s	339	10 of 10	34
2000s	157	10 of 10	16
2010s	50	7 of 10	7
2020s	11	3 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 139 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1969 and 1970, when recorded births rose by 50, from 103 to 153.

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

Fergal 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 3 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #46 in Republic of Ireland in 1970.

Fergal'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
2024	England and Wales	male	#4270	4	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#4608	3	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#3908	4	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#4632	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3822	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#4805	3	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#3830	4	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#3332	5	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#3227	5	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1885	10	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#2087	8	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2418	6	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1498	11	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#2189	6	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1411	10	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1595	8	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1241	11	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1130	12	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1367	9	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1257	10	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#2020	5	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#334	4	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#281	6	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	male	#398	3	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	male	#339	4	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	male	#266	6	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#357	3	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	male	#282	4	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	male	#210	7	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	male	#210	6	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	male	#167	9	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#151	11	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	male	#224	5	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	male	#220	5	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#163	10	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	male	#210	6	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#660	4	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#657	4	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#741	3	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#572	5	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#615	4	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#468	7	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#534	5	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#310	14	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#435	8	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#448	7	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#322	12	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#287	15	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#342	9	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#257	13	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#268	10	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#171	22	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#200	15	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#193	16	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#150	23	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#155	22	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#167	18	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#133	26	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#149	24	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#153	23	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#122	38	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#115	39	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#124	34	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#115	43	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#111	44	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#104	50	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#122	35	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#95	55	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#92	63	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#102	53	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#92	62	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#94	59	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#83	74	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#82	84	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#83	82	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#81	85	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#83	91	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#75	104	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#70	122	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#63	146	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#59	147	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#58	168	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#60	153	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#53	170	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#59	139	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#46	153	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#65	103	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#70	82	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#88	49	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#85	55	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#87	46	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#93	35	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
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 3 registrars between 1964 and 2024, ranked in 57 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #46, first reached in 1970.

It held a top-100 place in 24 years, 22 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 170 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1972.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 33 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.

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.

Ferdia · #205, 39y
Ferdinand · #167, 38y
Fergus · #66, 62y
Fern · #233, 32y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 3 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.

Donnacha · #46, 61y
Eugene · #47, 61y
Emer · #43, 62y
Aoibheann · #50, 54y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Damian · #46, 62y
Donnacha · #46, 61y
Mairead · #46, 61y
Alva · #47, 47y

Fergal was ranked #46 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1970. 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.

Fergal 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 Fergal without appearing here.

Fergal moved ahead of

Tayla Compare
In 2012 they stood at #3227 and #2318 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #3822 and #4685.
Glenn Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4608 and #3848 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #4270 and #5119.
Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4789 and #2165 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #4270 and #5119.
Jade Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4608 and #3848 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #4270 and #5119.

Moved ahead of Fergal

Hans Compare
In 2013 they stood at #3822 and #4685 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #4632 and #1819.
Braxton Compare
In 2010 they stood at #3332 and #4678 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2011 that had become #3830 and #1398.
Rune Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3908 and #4747 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #4608 and #2228.
Harper Compare
In 2008 they stood at #1885 and #2023 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #3227 and #1425.

Moved the opposite way to Fergal

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 while Alexander went from #116 to #48.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 while Benjamin went from #139 to #71.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 while Conor went from #56 to #12.
Daniel Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 while Daniel went from #19 to #10.

Moved the same way as Fergal

Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 and Alfred from #134 to #472.
Denis Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 and Denis from #21 to #224.
Edward Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 and Edward from #18 to #177.
Frank Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fergal went from #93 to #660 and Frank from #164 to #268.

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 3 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #46 in Republic of Ireland in 1970. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Fergal

Fergal at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Fergal across 3 official records

Fergal by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Fergal 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 Fergal

Fergal and the names beside it

Fergal moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fergal

Moved the opposite way to Fergal

Moved the same way as Fergal

Fergal at a glance

Fergal across 3 official records

Fergal by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Fergal 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 Fergal

Fergal and the names beside it

Fergal moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fergal

Moved the opposite way to Fergal

Moved the same way as Fergal