Ruadhan

maleStatistical record

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

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

Ruadhan: Recorded since 1973, its highest recorded position is #81, and it stood at #676 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
56times a registrar ranked it
53years from first to last
#81highest recorded position
13groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 2005–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
2005	#3849
2006	#4052
2009	#2837
2011	#4647
2017	#2512
2021	#3990
2022	#4789
2023	#3112
2024	#4270

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 · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 30 of the 53 years from 1973 to 2025.

In 2024: #81 among boys in Northern Ireland, #535 among boys in Scotland, #4270 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1973–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1973
First recorded at #320 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1973 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded2004–2024
Highest recorded position: #81 among boys in Northern Ireland, in 2024 (recorded 2004–2024).
Northern Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #676 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ruadhan appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 30 years beginning in 1973, and has registered 339 births with the name.

Ruadhan 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.

Ruadhan'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	#320 (1973)	#169 (2017)	#676 (2025)	30 of 53	339 (1973–2025)	35 (2017)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#305 (2004)	#81 (2024)	#81 (2024)	16 of 21	144 (2004–2024)	29 (2024)
England and Wales · Boys	#3849 (2005)	#2512 (2017)	#4270 (2024)	9 of 20	40 (2005–2024)	8 (2017)

Ruadhan 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 Ruadhan in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1970s	3	1 of 10	3
1980s	3	1 of 10	3
1990s	34	8 of 10	4
2000s	102	9 of 10	11
2010sbusiest	190	9 of 10	21
2020s	7	2 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 21 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2017 and 2018, when recorded births fell by 31, from 35 to 4.

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

Ruadhan 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 4 regions, from 1973 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #81 in Northern Ireland in 2024.

Ruadhan'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	male	#4270	4	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#3112	6	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#3990	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#2512	8	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#4647	3	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#2837	6	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#4052	3	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#3849	3	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	male	#81	29	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#113	22	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	male	#192	11	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	male	#226	9	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#186	11	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#185	12	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#283	6	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	male	#202	10	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	male	#216	9	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#314	5	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#398	3	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	male	#398	3	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#346	4	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	male	#390	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#315	4	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	male	#305	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#676	4	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#741	3	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#635	4	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#169	35	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#245	20	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#206	27	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#237	23	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#209	28	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#263	19	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#272	18	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#284	16	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#233	23	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#346	11	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#247	16	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#271	12	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	9	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#263	10	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#305	7	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#267	8	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#274	6	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#241	7	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#280	5	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#337	4	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#369	3	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#301	4	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#342	3	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#302	4	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#288	4	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#322	3	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#320	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#535	5	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
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1973 and 2025, ranked in 35 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #81, first reached in 2024.

It held a top-100 place in 1 year.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 35 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 2017.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 9 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2004, and 51 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.

Rua · #192, 17y
Ruadh · #187, 12y
Ruaidhri · #157, 51y
Ruairi · #54, 59y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 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.

Haley · #81, 37y
Marnie · #81, 30y
Rupert · #80, 35y
Iona · #83, 32y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1970 and 1979.

Haley · #81, 37y
Abel · #82, 43y
Caragh · #80, 47y
Cleo · #82, 39y

Ruadhan was ranked #81 in Northern Ireland · Boys in 2024. 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.

Ruadhan 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 Ruadhan without appearing here.

Ruadhan moved ahead of

Garry Compare
In 2022 they stood at #4789 and #3048 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #3112 and #4991.
Glenn Compare
In 2022 they stood at #3990 and #2730 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #3112 and #4991.
Espen Compare
In 2022 they stood at #4789 and #3449 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #3112 and #4107.
Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #3112 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #4270 and #5119.

Moved ahead of Ruadhan

Gunnar Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2512 and #3040 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #3990 and #1860.
Cooper Compare
In 2017 they stood at #169 and #175 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #635 and #142.
Teddy Compare
In 2017 they stood at #169 and #184 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #635 and #151.
Ezra Compare
In 2017 they stood at #169 and #214 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #635 and #157.

Moved the opposite way to Ruadhan

Alexander Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 while Alexander went from #145 to #55.
Arthur Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 while Arthur went from #145 to #57.
Cian Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 while Cian went from #152 to #33.
Cillian Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 while Cillian went from #290 to #9.

Moved the same way as Ruadhan

Adrian Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 and Adrian from #43 to #348.
Alan Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 and Alan from #10 to #232.
Andrew Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 and Andrew from #38 to #106.
Anthony Compare
Between 1973 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruadhan went from #320 to #676 and Anthony from #15 to #135.

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 4 regions, from 1973 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #81 in Northern Ireland in 2024. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Ruadhan

Ruadhan at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ruadhan across 3 official records

Ruadhan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ruadhan appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Ruadhan

Ruadhan and the names beside it

Ruadhan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ruadhan

Moved the opposite way to Ruadhan

Moved the same way as Ruadhan

Ruadhan at a glance

Ruadhan across 3 official records

Ruadhan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ruadhan appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Ruadhan

Ruadhan and the names beside it

Ruadhan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ruadhan

Moved the opposite way to Ruadhan

Moved the same way as Ruadhan