Fionnuala

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Fionnuala: Recorded since 1964, its highest recorded position is #116, and it stood at #5,891 in 2024.

3registrars recorded it
96times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#116highest recorded position
15groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#974
1997	#1126
1998	#955
1999	#1160
2000	#1313
2001	#1870
2002	#1530
2003	#2436
2004	#2530
2005	#2247
2007	#2627
2008	#5545
2009	#5556
2010	#3533
2011	#3549
2012	#5876
2013	#4050
2014	#2862
2015	#2705
2016	#4096
2017	#2341
2018	#4684
2019	#4686
2020	#3899
2022	#4645
2023	#4056
2024	#5891

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 · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 51 of the 56 years from 1964 to 2019.

In 2019: #716 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #4686 among girls 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 #135 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1964–2019
Highest recorded position: #116 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1966 (recorded 1964–2019).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #5891 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Fionnuala appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 51 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 1,046 births with the name.

Fionnuala 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.

Fionnuala'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	#135 (1964)	#116 (1966)	#716 (2019)	51 of 56	1,046 (1964–2019)	51 (1966)
England and Wales · Girls	#974 (1996)	#955 (1998)	#5891 (2024)	27 of 29	227 (1996–2024)	22 (1998)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#139 (1997)	#126 (2001)	#434 (2018)	18 of 22	134 (1997–2018)	15 (1997)

Fionnuala 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 Fionnuala in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	221	6 of 10	37
1970s	368	10 of 10	37
1980s	240	10 of 10	24
1990s	133	10 of 10	13
2000s	57	9 of 10	6
2010s	27	6 of 10	5

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 37 births a year.

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

Fionnuala 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: #116 in Republic of Ireland in 1966.

Fionnuala'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	female	#5891	3	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#4056	5	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#4645	4	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#3899	5	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#4686	4	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#2341	11	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#4096	5	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#2705	9	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#2862	8	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#4050	5	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#5876	3	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#3549	6	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#3533	6	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#5556	3	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#5545	3	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2627	8	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2247	9	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#2530	7	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#2436	7	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1530	12	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1870	9	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1313	14	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1160	17	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#955	22	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1126	17	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#974	21	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	female	#434	3	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	female	#432	3	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	female	#297	6	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#444	3	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	female	#366	4	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	female	#201	9	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	female	#311	5	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#268	6	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	female	#238	7	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	female	#318	4	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#238	6	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	female	#185	8	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	female	#227	6	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#126	15	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#174	9	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#167	10	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#136	15	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#139	15	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#716	4	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#896	3	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#661	5	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#677	5	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#798	4	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#593	6	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#641	5	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#549	6	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#431	8	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#587	4	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#511	5	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#439	6	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#443	5	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#335	8	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#284	10	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#322	7	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#252	10	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#193	23	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#356	7	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#242	15	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#268	12	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#242	15	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#290	11	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#217	18	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#242	15	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#203	20	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#237	16	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#200	23	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#220	18	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#215	21	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#205	25	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#173	34	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#207	26	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#206	27	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#192	30	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#219	23	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#156	42	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#167	36	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#167	36	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#165	38	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#161	42	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#162	40	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#166	35	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#168	35	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#141	41	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#154	37	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#159	32	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#142	36	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#116	51	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#144	31	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#135	34	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 60 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #116, first reached in 1966.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 51 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1966.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

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.

Fionnan · #211, 34y
Fionntan · #167, 28y
Fionnula · #218, 15y
Fiontan · #207, 10y

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.

Eanna · #115, 57y
Fiachra · #115, 58y
Jerome · #119, 61y
Veronika · #111, 58y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Fidelma · #116, 31y
Pascal · #116, 46y
Colum · #115, 49y
Eanna · #115, 57y

Fionnuala was ranked #116 in Republic of Ireland · Girls 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.

Fionnuala 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 Fionnuala without appearing here.

Fionnuala moved ahead of

Kristy Compare
In 2013 they stood at #5876 and #3285 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #2862 and #4684.
Carol Compare
In 2018 they stood at #4684 and #4684 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #4686 and #5591.
Tracey Compare
In 2019 they stood at #4684 and #3985 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #3899 and #4535.
Janet Compare
In 2009 they stood at #439 and #439 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2010 that had become #593 and #910.

Moved ahead of Fionnuala

Fiadh Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2341 and #2502 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #4684 and #1436.
Meabh Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2341 and #4063 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #4684 and #1711.
Shea Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4056 and #5687 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #5891 and #3015.
Rory Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2341 and #2706 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #4684 and #1977.

Moved the opposite way to Fionnuala

Alexandra Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 while Alexandra went from #222 to #88.
Ciara Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 while Ciara went from #146 to #49.
Emma Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 while Emma went from #245 to #12.
Hanna Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 while Hanna went from #245 to #99.

Moved the same way as Fionnuala

Alma Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 and Alma from #327 to #502.
Audrey Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 and Audrey from #85 to #716.
Deirdre Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 and Deirdre from #14 to #871.
Eileen Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Fionnuala went from #135 to #716 and Eileen from #17 to #421.

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: #116 in Republic of Ireland in 1966. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Fionnuala

Fionnuala at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Fionnuala across 3 official records

Fionnuala by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Fionnuala 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 Fionnuala

Fionnuala and the names beside it

Fionnuala moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fionnuala

Moved the opposite way to Fionnuala

Moved the same way as Fionnuala

Fionnuala at a glance

Fionnuala across 3 official records

Fionnuala by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Fionnuala 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 Fionnuala

Fionnuala and the names beside it

Fionnuala moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Fionnuala

Moved the opposite way to Fionnuala

Moved the same way as Fionnuala