Meadbh

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Meadbh: Recorded since 1998, its highest recorded position is #202, and it was last ranked in 2019.

2registrars recorded it
21times a registrar ranked it
22years from first to last
#202highest recorded position
4groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in Northern Ireland · 1998–2018

View as table

Northern Ireland · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1998	#351
2018	#361

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 19 of the 22 years from 1998 to 2019.

In 1998: #351 among girls in Northern Ireland, #380 among girls in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1998–2019 · NISRA. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1998
First recorded at #351 among girls in Northern Ireland in 1998 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Northern Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1998–2019
Highest recorded position: #202 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2000 (recorded 1998–2019).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2019
Most recently recorded at #871 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2019.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meadbh appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 19 years beginning in 1998, and has registered 115 births with the name.

Meadbh 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.

Meadbh'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	#380 (1998)	#202 (2000)	#871 (2019)	19 of 22	115 (1998–2019)	17 (2000)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#351 (1998)	#351 (1998)	#361 (2018)	2 of 21	7 (1998–2018)	4 (2018)

Meadbh 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 Meadbh in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	15	2 of 10	8
2000sbusiest	64	9 of 10	7
2010s	36	8 of 10	5

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 7 births a year.

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

Meadbh 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 1998 to 2019. Highest recorded position: #202 in Republic of Ireland in 2000.

Meadbh'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	female	#361	4	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#351	3	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#871	3	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#868	3	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#896	3	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#661	5	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#660	5	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#907	3	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#510	8	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#593	6	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#488	8	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#665	5	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#502	6	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#587	4	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#414	7	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#439	6	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#406	6	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#441	5	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#202	17	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#267	10	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#380	5	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 1998 and 2019, ranked in 20 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #202, first reached in 2000.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 17 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 2000.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

Every registrar that records it began in the same year, 1998.

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.

3decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 3 decades →
9 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
3separate stretches the record falls into3 separate stretches →
1 yearlongest absence inside the recorded periodA single year missing →
#871position in 2019, its most recent recorded year
0 yearsyears between the first and last registrar to record itWithin 2 years →
17births registered in its largest year, 2000Under 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.

Mea · #312, 25y
Meabh · #17, 48y
Meadhbh · #142, 47y
Meadow · #159, 28y

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.

Katie-Leigh · #201, 21y
Sharan · #204, 16y
Elian · #207, 25y
Dereck · #196, 17y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Hamzah · #202, 29y
Bill · #203, 35y
Effie · #201, 30y
Kaden · #203, 29y

Meadbh was ranked #202 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 2000. 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.

Meadbh 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 Meadbh without appearing here.

Meadbh moved ahead of

Tracy Compare
In 2008 they stood at #587 and #587 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #488 and #893.
Jacqueline Compare
In 2008 they stood at #665 and #501 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #488 and #742.
Donna Compare
In 2012 they stood at #907 and #510 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2013 that had become #660 and #894.
Kerry Compare
In 2008 they stood at #665 and #291 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #488 and #641.

Moved ahead of Meadbh

Ivy Compare
In 2011 they stood at #510 and #937 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2012 that had become #907 and #371.
Emilie Compare
In 2011 they stood at #510 and #550 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2012 that had become #907 and #398.
Harper Compare
In 2011 they stood at #488 and #893 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2012 that had become #907 and #398.
Aurora Compare
In 2011 they stood at #510 and #695 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2012 that had become #907 and #474.

Moved the opposite way to Meadbh

Abigail Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 while Abigail went from #107 to #59.
Alice Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 while Alice went from #90 to #35.
Amelia Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 while Amelia went from #252 to #6.
Anna Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 while Anna went from #33 to #19.

Moved the same way as Meadbh

Aimee Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 and Aimee from #88 to #201.
Aisling Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 and Aisling from #21 to #94.
Alison Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 and Alison from #45 to #152.
Amanda Compare
Between 1998 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meadbh went from #380 to #871 and Amanda from #120 to #313.

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 1998 to 2019. Highest recorded position: #202 in Republic of Ireland in 2000. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Meadbh

Meadbh at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Meadbh across 2 official records

Meadbh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meadbh appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Meadbh

Meadbh and the names beside it

Meadbh moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meadbh

Moved the opposite way to Meadbh

Moved the same way as Meadbh

Meadbh at a glance

Meadbh across 2 official records

Meadbh by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meadbh appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Meadbh

Meadbh and the names beside it

Meadbh moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meadbh

Moved the opposite way to Meadbh

Moved the same way as Meadbh