Grainne

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Grainne: Recorded every year since 1964, it reached #37 in 1989, and it stood at #407 in 2024.

3registrars recorded it
102times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#37highest recorded position
25groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Grainne's record

Ranked every year since 1964, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 41 years running. Names by top-100 run
Moved 183 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2022

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1364
1997	#1234
1998	#1319
1999	#1557
2000	#2416
2001	#1870
2002	#2105
2003	#2727
2004	#3197
2005	#3970
2006	#4157
2007	#2627
2008	#4524
2009	#3936
2010	#4012
2011	#5785
2012	#4838
2020	#5493
2022	#5669

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 every year from 1964 to 2018.

In 2022: #305 among girls in Northern Ireland, #5669 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 #62 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 recorded1964–2018
Highest recorded position: #37 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1989 (recorded 1964–2018).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #407 among girls in Northern Ireland, in 2024.
Northern Ireland · Girls

Grainne appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 55 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 5,688 births with the name.

Grainne 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.

Grainne'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	#62 (1964)	#37 (1989)	#896 (2018)	55 of 55	5,688 (1964–2018)	202 (1982)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#97 (1997)	#60 (1998)	#407 (2024)	28 of 28	328 (1997–2024)	38 (1998)
England and Wales · Girls	#1364 (1996)	#1234 (1997)	#5669 (2022)	19 of 27	130 (1996–2022)	15 (1997)

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Inside a single year a registrar's ranking is its birth counts put in order, so the top of a list is always the name given to the most babies that year. Across years the two separate, because the number of births and the number of names sharing them both change.

In Republic of Ireland · Girls the name reached its highest position, #37, in 1989, when 156 births were registered with it. More were registered in 1982 — 202 — in a year it ranked #45.

Grainne 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 Grainne in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	718	6 of 10	120
1970s	1,484	10 of 10	148
1980sbusiest	1,519	10 of 10	152
1990s	1,004	10 of 10	100
2000s	719	10 of 10	72
2010s	244	9 of 10	27

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1980s were its busiest decade, averaging 152 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1997 and 1998, when recorded births fell by 44, from 114 to 70.

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

Grainne 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: #37 in Republic of Ireland in 1989.

Grainne'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
2022	England and Wales	female	#5669	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#5493	3	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#4838	4	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#5785	3	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#4012	5	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#3936	5	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#4524	4	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2627	8	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#4157	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#3970	4	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#3197	5	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#2727	6	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#2105	8	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1870	9	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#2416	6	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1557	11	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1319	14	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1234	15	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1364	13	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	female	#407	3	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	female	#237	7	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	female	#305	5	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	female	#298	5	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	female	#192	9	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	female	#178	11	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	female	#361	4	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	female	#263	6	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	female	#211	9	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	female	#223	8	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	female	#278	6	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	female	#141	14	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	female	#268	7	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#224	8	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	female	#258	7	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	female	#190	10	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	female	#171	12	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#147	14	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	female	#162	12	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	female	#138	14	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#155	11	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	female	#114	17	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	female	#142	13	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#126	15	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#92	21	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#114	18	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#60	38	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#97	24	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#896	3	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#233	21	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#254	18	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#177	32	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#229	22	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#165	36	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#184	31	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#145	42	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#160	39	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#139	45	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#88	75	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#102	59	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#86	70	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#101	58	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#57	102	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#68	74	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#71	74	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#66	77	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#52	85	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#49	94	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#56	70	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#53	114	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#65	81	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#63	85	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#52	105	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#54	108	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#53	113	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#52	121	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#55	113	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#37	156	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#49	143	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#62	128	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#72	118	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#67	116	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#69	122	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#56	163	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#45	202	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#54	176	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#50	195	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#56	163	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#55	167	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#56	161	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#57	158	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#61	144	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#65	141	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#60	150	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#53	152	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#74	121	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#66	127	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#61	120	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#60	123	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#58	122	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#57	121	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#52	133	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#62	99	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 61 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #37, first reached in 1989.

It held a top-100 place in 43 years, 41 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 202 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1982.

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.

Graham · #20, 73y
Grahame · #71, 12y
Grant · #13, 70y
Grantas · #629, 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.

Donal · #38, 62y
Senan · #38, 62y
Cornelius · #39, 62y
Daire · #40, 60y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Austin · #37, 62y
Corey · #37, 54y
Cormac · #37, 62y
Mabel · #37, 31y

Grainne was ranked #37 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1989. 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.

Grainne 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 Grainne without appearing here.

Grainne moved ahead of

Lene Compare
In 2006 they stood at #4157 and #4157 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2007 that had become #2627 and #5201.
Vicki Compare
In 2011 they stood at #3970 and #3970 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2012 that had become #4838 and #5876.
Danielle Compare
In 2018 they stood at #361 and #361 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2019 that had become #178 and #424.
Samantha Compare
In 2018 they stood at #361 and #313 in Northern Ireland · Girls; by 2019 that had become #178 and #424.

Moved ahead of Grainne

Ellinor Compare
In 2019 they stood at #4838 and #5876 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #5493 and #2843.
Ezra Compare
In 2010 they stood at #4012 and #5707 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #5785 and #3185.
Karin Compare
In 2007 they stood at #2627 and #5201 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #4524 and #2150.
Finley Compare
In 2010 they stood at #4012 and #4688 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #5785 and #3549.

Moved the opposite way to Grainne

Alexandra Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 while Alexandra went from #222 to #113.
Alice Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 while Alice went from #57 to #33.
Anna Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 while Anna went from #34 to #12.
Ciara Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 while Ciara went from #146 to #43.

Moved the same way as Grainne

Alma Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 and Alma from #327 to #512.
Audrey Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 and Audrey from #85 to #568.
Elaine Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 and Elaine from #58 to #896.
Ida Compare
Between 1964 and 2018 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Grainne went from #62 to #896 and Ida from #372 to #734.

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: #37 in Republic of Ireland in 1989. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Grainne

Grainne at a glance

What stands out in Grainne's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Grainne across 3 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Grainne by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Grainne 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 Grainne

Grainne and the names beside it

Grainne moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Grainne

Moved the opposite way to Grainne

Moved the same way as Grainne

Grainne at a glance

What stands out in Grainne's record

Grainne across 3 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Grainne by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Grainne 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 Grainne

Grainne and the names beside it

Grainne moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Grainne

Moved the opposite way to Grainne

Moved the same way as Grainne