Ruaidhri

maleStatistical record

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

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

Ruaidhri: Recorded since 1971, it reached #157 in 1978, and it stood at #339 in 2024.

3registrars recorded it
60times a registrar ranked it
54years from first to last
#157highest recorded position
12groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1997–2005

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#2022
1998	#2901
1999	#2425
2001	#3134
2003	#2857
2005	#3849

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 45 of the 47 years from 1971 to 2017.

In 2016: #421 among boys in Northern Ireland, #601 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1971–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1971
First recorded at #257 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1971 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1971–2017
Highest recorded position: #157 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1978 (recorded 1971–2017).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #339 among boys in Northern Ireland, in 2024.
Northern Ireland · Boys

Ruaidhri appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 45 years beginning in 1971, and has registered 323 births with the name.

Ruaidhri 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.

Ruaidhri'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	#257 (1971)	#157 (1978)	#547 (2017)	45 of 47	323 (1971–2017)	20 (1978)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#243 (2002)	#192 (2022)	#339 (2024)	9 of 23	38 (2002–2024)	11 (2022)
England and Wales · Boys	#2022 (1997)	#2022 (1997)	#3849 (2005)	6 of 9	22 (1997–2005)	5 (1997)

Ruaidhri 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 Ruaidhri in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1970sbusiest	67	8 of 10	8
1980s	82	10 of 10	8
1990s	62	9 of 10	7
2000s	68	10 of 10	7
2010s	44	8 of 10	6

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade — the 8 years of it this list covers, averaging 8 births a year.

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

Ruaidhri 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 1971 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #157 in Republic of Ireland in 1978.

Ruaidhri'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
2005	England and Wales	male	#3849	3	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#2857	4	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#3134	3	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#2425	4	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2901	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2022	5	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	male	#339	4	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#395	3	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	male	#192	11	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	male	#374	4	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#416	3	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	male	#421	3	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#375	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#357	3	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	male	#243	4	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#547	5	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#601	4	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#615	4	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#715	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#711	3	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#379	10	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#490	6	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#400	9	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#404	8	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#412	8	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#342	9	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#384	6	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#254	11	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#390	5	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#337	6	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#292	7	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#347	4	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#347	4	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#369	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#303	5	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#276	6	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#334	3	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#174	14	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#235	7	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#298	4	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#205	9	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#193	11	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#215	7	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#271	4	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#185	12	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#210	9	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#250	5	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#181	13	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#214	8	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#217	9	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#239	7	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#232	8	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#176	15	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#157	20	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#220	9	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#241	6	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#290	4	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#321	3	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#254	5	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#257	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

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 3 registrars between 1971 and 2024, ranked in 51 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #157, first reached in 1978.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 20 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1978.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1997, and 31 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.

Ruadh · #187, 12y
Ruadhan · #81, 35y
Ruairi · #54, 59y
Ruairidh · #56, 24y

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.

Benedict · #155, 51y
Donncha · #159, 55y
Finian · #155, 49y
Juliette · #155, 55y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

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

Kajsa · #159, 42y
Mattis · #152, 52y
Seana · #162, 33y
Nicolay · #151, 48y

Ruaidhri was ranked #157 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1978. 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.

Ruaidhri 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 Ruaidhri without appearing here.

Ruaidhri moved ahead of

Barry Compare
In 2021 they stood at #416 and #365 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2022 that had become #192 and #414.
Noel Compare
In 2021 they stood at #416 and #255 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2022 that had become #192 and #414.
Steven Compare
In 2021 they stood at #374 and #295 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2022 that had become #192 and #414.
Jakob Compare
In 2016 they stood at #601 and #601 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2017 that had become #547 and #710.

Moved ahead of Ruaidhri

Cillian Compare
In 2000 they stood at #2425 and #2943 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #3134 and #1746.
Hunter Compare
In 1997 they stood at #2022 and #2337 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #2901 and #1821.
Mathias Compare
In 1997 they stood at #2022 and #2859 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #2901 and #1821.
Hans Compare
In 1997 they stood at #2022 and #2337 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #2901 and #2074.

Moved the opposite way to Ruaidhri

Aaron Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 while Aaron went from #204 to #31.
Adam Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 while Adam went from #164 to #9.
Alexander Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 while Alexander went from #120 to #39.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 while Benjamin went from #184 to #69.

Moved the same way as Ruaidhri

Adrian Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 and Adrian from #52 to #169.
Alan Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 and Alan from #13 to #120.
Alfred Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 and Alfred from #257 to #418.
Andrew Compare
Between 1971 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ruaidhri went from #257 to #547 and Andrew from #26 to #76.

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 1971 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #157 in Republic of Ireland in 1978. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Ruaidhri

Ruaidhri at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ruaidhri across 3 official records

Ruaidhri by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ruaidhri 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 Ruaidhri

Ruaidhri and the names beside it

Ruaidhri moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ruaidhri

Moved the opposite way to Ruaidhri

Moved the same way as Ruaidhri

Ruaidhri at a glance

Ruaidhri across 3 official records

Ruaidhri by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ruaidhri 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 Ruaidhri

Ruaidhri and the names beside it

Ruaidhri moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ruaidhri

Moved the opposite way to Ruaidhri

Moved the same way as Ruaidhri