Gráinne
Say it: GRAWN-ya
GirlIrishMythology7 letters2 syllables
#166
in Ireland (2025)
#168 with spellings combined
28
babies in 2025
#37
best rank (1989)
5,844
babies since 1964
Up 9
10-year rank change
Gráinne through the years
Compare with another name →Show the numbers
| Year | Babies (girls) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 | #168 |
| 2024 | 16 | #265 |
| 2023 | 12 | #313 |
| 2022 | 19 | #235 |
| 2021 | 26 | #185 |
| 2020 | 24 | #193 |
| 2019 | 19 | #248 |
| 2018 | 15 | #296 |
| 2017 | 21 | #233 |
| 2016 | 18 | #254 |
| 2015 | 32 | #177 |
| 2014 | 22 | #229 |
| 2013 | 36 | #165 |
| 2012 | 31 | #184 |
| 2011 | 42 | #145 |
| 2010 | 39 | #160 |
| 2009 | 45 | #139 |
| 2008 | 75 | #88 |
| 2007 | 59 | #102 |
| 2006 | 70 | #86 |
| 2005 | 58 | #101 |
| 2004 | 102 | #57 |
| 2003 | 74 | #68 |
| 2002 | 74 | #71 |
| 2001 | 77 | #66 |
| 2000 | 85 | #52 |
| 1999 | 94 | #49 |
| 1998 | 70 | #56 |
| 1997 | 114 | #53 |
| 1996 | 81 | #65 |
| 1995 | 85 | #63 |
| 1994 | 105 | #52 |
| 1993 | 108 | #54 |
| 1992 | 113 | #53 |
| 1991 | 121 | #52 |
| 1990 | 113 | #55 |
| 1989 | 156 | #37 |
| 1988 | 143 | #49 |
| 1987 | 128 | #62 |
| 1986 | 118 | #72 |
| 1985 | 116 | #67 |
| 1984 | 122 | #69 |
| 1983 | 163 | #56 |
| 1982 | 202 | #45 |
| 1981 | 176 | #54 |
| 1980 | 195 | #50 |
| 1979 | 163 | #56 |
| 1978 | 167 | #55 |
| 1977 | 161 | #56 |
| 1976 | 158 | #57 |
| 1975 | 144 | #61 |
| 1974 | 141 | #65 |
| 1973 | 150 | #60 |
| 1972 | 152 | #53 |
| 1971 | 121 | #74 |
| 1970 | 127 | #66 |
| 1969 | 120 | #61 |
| 1968 | 123 | #60 |
| 1967 | 122 | #58 |
| 1966 | 121 | #57 |
| 1965 | 133 | #52 |
| 1964 | 99 | #62 |
Source: CSO, Irish Babies' Names (VSA50, VSA60), CC BY 4.0. Spellings with and without fadas are combined; the CSO only recorded fadas from 2018.
★ What does Gráinne mean?
Uncertain
Irish, of uncertain origin, perhaps linked to grán (grain) or gráin (horror).
Say it right
GRAWNya
In Ulster the á is flatter, closer to GRAN-ya. The name was traditionally put into English as Grace, though the two are not related.
Not:GRAYNGRAY-nee
The story of Gráinne
The origin of Gráinne is uncertain. One idea links it to grán, grain, as if it first belonged to a goddess of the harvest. Another ties it to gráin, horror, giving a sense like “she who inspires terror”. A link with grá, love, has also been suggested. It was long put into English as Grace, which is a different name.
In the Fenian Cycle, Gráinne is the daughter of the high king Cormac mac Airt. She is promised to Fionn mac Cumhaill but, put off by his age, she lays a geis, a binding obligation, on his young warrior Diarmuid to run away with her. Fionn chases them for years. The stories disagree about how her life ends. In history, the name belonged to Gráinne Ní Mháille, better known as Grace O’Malley or Granuaile, the sixteenth-century sea captain from the west who met Elizabeth I in 1593.
The CSO did not record fadas before 2018, so these figures count Gráinne and Grainne together. It had the most babies in 1982, with 202 girls. Its best rank came in 1989, at number 37. In Northern Ireland its best place was number 60 in 1998.
Say it differently where you're from, or spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Gráinne (Irish proper noun)
- Wikipedia: Gráinne (given name)
- Wikipedia: Gráinne
- Wikipedia: Grace O'Malley
- CSO VSA60, Girls Names in Ireland with 3 or More Occurrences
At a glance
Similar names
Sibling ideas
Spellings counted here
| Spelling | 2025 | All years |
|---|---|---|
| Gráinne | 28 | 156 |
| Grainne | under 3 | 5,688 |
In Northern Ireland
#205 in 2025 with 8 babies. Best rank #60 (1998); 336 babies since 1997.
Source: NISRA, Open Government Licence.