Fionan

maleStatistical record

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

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

Fionan: Recorded since 1969, it reached #223 in 1996, and it was last ranked in 2018.

2registrars recorded it
43times a registrar ranked it
50years from first to last
#223highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in Northern Ireland · 2001–2018

View as table

Northern Ireland · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
2001	#243
2007	#357
2011	#375
2018	#416

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 · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 39 of the 49 years from 1969 to 2017.

In 2011: #366 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #375 among boys in Northern Ireland.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1969–2018 · NISRA. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1969
First recorded at #270 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1969 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1969–2017
Highest recorded position: #223 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1996 (recorded 1969–2017).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2018
Most recently recorded at #416 among boys in Northern Ireland, in 2018.
Northern Ireland · Boys

Fionan appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 39 years beginning in 1969, and has registered 245 births with the name.

Fionan 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.

Fionan'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	#270 (1969)	#223 (1996)	#547 (2017)	39 of 49	245 (1969–2017)	16 (2009)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#243 (2001)	#243 (2001)	#416 (2018)	4 of 18	13 (2001–2018)	4 (2001)

Fionan 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 Fionan in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	4	1 of 10	4
1970s	32	8 of 10	4
1980s	26	6 of 10	4
1990s	37	7 of 10	5
2000sbusiest	90	9 of 10	10
2010s	56	8 of 10	7

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 10 births a year.

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

Fionan 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 1969 to 2018. Highest recorded position: #223 in Republic of Ireland in 1996.

Fionan'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
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#416	3	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#375	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#357	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#243	4	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#547	5	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#541	5	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#615	4	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#428	8	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#605	4	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#379	10	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#366	11	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#400	9	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	16	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#368	10	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#326	10	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#282	11	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#247	12	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#299	8	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#266	10	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#313	6	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#250	7	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#290	5	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#324	4	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#223	10	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#261	6	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#298	4	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#288	4	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#286	4	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#253	5	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#235	6	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#272	4	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#318	3	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#282	4	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#286	4	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#269	5	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	4	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#273	5	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#316	3	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#290	4	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#254	5	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#304	3	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#305	3	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#270	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 1969 and 2018, ranked in 41 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #223, first reached in 1996.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 16 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 2009.

Its record falls into 6 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2001, and 32 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.

Finty · #2407, 16y
Fiona · #4, 71y
Fionn · #6, 51y
Fionna · #327, 11y

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.

Olan · #222, 41y
Rudolf · #220, 39y
Ethel · #217, 45y
Niclas · #217, 46y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Janis · #223, 39y
Finton · #222, 22y
Leyla · #224, 50y
Lionel · #222, 33y

Fionan was ranked #223 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1996. 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.

Fionan 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 Fionan without appearing here.

Fionan moved ahead of

Phillip Compare
In 2004 they stood at #324 and #188 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2005 that had become #247 and #518.
Garry Compare
In 2005 they stood at #299 and #299 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2006 that had become #282 and #493.
Ashley Compare
In 2015 they stood at #605 and #605 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2016 that had become #541 and #713.
Roger Compare
In 1999 they stood at #261 and #261 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2000 that had become #250 and #390.

Moved ahead of Fionan

Lachlan Compare
In 2014 they stood at #428 and #468 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2015 that had become #615 and #355.
Arlo Compare
In 2012 they stood at #379 and #430 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2013 that had become #605 and #352.
Tobias Compare
In 2012 they stood at #379 and #500 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2013 that had become #605 and #352.
Elias Compare
In 2012 they stood at #379 and #548 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2013 that had become #605 and #404.

Moved the opposite way to Fionan

Aaron Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 while Aaron went from #174 to #31.
Adam Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 while Adam went from #196 to #9.
Alexander Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 while Alexander went from #135 to #39.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 while Benjamin went from #154 to #69.

Moved the same way as Fionan

Adrian Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 and Adrian from #48 to #169.
Alan Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 and Alan from #15 to #120.
Alfred Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 and Alfred from #163 to #418.
Andrew Compare
Between 1969 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Fionan went from #270 to #547 and Andrew from #36 to #76.

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 1969 to 2018. Highest recorded position: #223 in Republic of Ireland in 1996. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Fionan

Fionan at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Fionan across 2 official records

Fionan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Fionan 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 Fionan

Fionan and the names beside it

Fionan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fionan

Moved the opposite way to Fionan

Moved the same way as Fionan

Fionan at a glance

Fionan across 2 official records

Fionan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Fionan 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 Fionan

Fionan and the names beside it

Fionan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fionan

Moved the opposite way to Fionan

Moved the same way as Fionan