Meave

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Meave: Recorded since 1968, with a gap of 13 years, it reached #300 in 1974, and it stood at #885 in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
18times a registrar ranked it
58years from first to last
#300highest recorded position
8groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Meave's record

Absent from every published list for 13 years inside its own recorded period, then ranked again. Names by longest absence

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 2002–2009

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2002	#4137
2007	#5201
2009	#5556

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 15 of the 58 years from 1968 to 2025.

In 2009: #893 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #5556 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1968–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1968
First recorded at #357 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1968 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1968–2025
Highest recorded position: #300 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1974 (recorded 1968–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #885 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meave appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 15 years beginning in 1968, and has registered 69 births with the name.

Meave 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.

Meave'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	#357 (1968)	#300 (1974)	#885 (2025)	15 of 58	69 (1968–2025)	10 (1973)
England and Wales · Girls	#4137 (2002)	#4137 (2002)	#5556 (2009)	3 of 8	9 (2002–2009)	3 (2002)

Meave 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 Meave in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	10	2 of 10	5
1970sbusiest	29	5 of 10	6
1980s	15	3 of 10	5
1990s	3	1 of 10	3
2000s	3	1 of 10	3
2010s	6	2 of 10	3
2020s	3	1 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 6 births a year.

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

Meave 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 1968 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #300 in Republic of Ireland in 1974.

Meave'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
2009	England and Wales	female	#5556	3	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#5201	3	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#4137	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#885	3	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#937	3	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#910	3	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#893	3	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#534	3	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#456	4	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#438	5	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#386	6	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#468	4	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#497	3	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#300	9	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#305	10	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#322	6	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#357	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
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 1968 and 2025, ranked in 17 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #300, first reached in 1974.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 10 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1973.

Its record falls into 12 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 13 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2002, and 34 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.

7decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 7 decades →
3 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
12separate stretches the record falls into10 or more separate stretches →
13 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period10 to 19 years missing →
#885position in 2025, its most recent recorded year
34 yearsyears between the first and last registrar to record itAcross 21 to 40 years →
10births registered in its largest year, 1973Under 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.

Meah · #330, 19y
Meara · #328, 8y
Meda · #539, 19y
Medeea · #555, 12y

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.

Averil · #300, 18y
Celene · #300, 13y
Bradlee · #299, 20y
Francie · #301, 18y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Alyson · #300, 36y
Averil · #300, 18y
Celene · #300, 13y
Lavina · #300, 24y

Meave was ranked #300 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1974. 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.

Meave 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 Meave without appearing here.

Moved ahead of Meave

Layla Compare
In 2008 they stood at #456 and #519 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #893 and #74.
Ada Compare
In 2008 they stood at #300 and #428 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2009 that had become #893 and #410.
Leanne Compare
In 1978 they stood at #468 and #518 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1979 that had become #523 and #170.
Kirsten Compare
In 1995 they stood at #438 and #476 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1996 that had become #534 and #279.

Moved the opposite way to Meave

Alice Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 while Alice went from #87 to #41.
Amelia Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 while Amelia went from #270 to #12.
Amy Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 while Amy went from #357 to #138.
Annie Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 while Annie went from #240 to #33.

Moved the same way as Meave

Aisling Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 and Aisling from #87 to #180.
Alison Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 and Alison from #83 to #213.
Amanda Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 and Amanda from #63 to #608.
Andrea Compare
Between 1968 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meave went from #357 to #885 and Andrea from #179 to #304.

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 1968 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #300 in Republic of Ireland in 1974. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Meave

Meave at a glance

What stands out in Meave's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Meave across 2 official records

Meave by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meave 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 Meave

Meave and the names beside it

Moved ahead of Meave

Moved the opposite way to Meave

Moved the same way as Meave

Meave at a glance

What stands out in Meave's record

Meave across 2 official records

Meave by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meave 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 Meave

Meave and the names beside it

Moved ahead of Meave

Moved the opposite way to Meave

Moved the same way as Meave