Róisín
Say it: roe-SHEEN
GirlIrishMeans little rose6 letters2 syllables
#29
in Ireland (2025)
#24 with spellings combined
146
babies in 2025
#17
best rank (1999)
9,977
babies since 1964
Up 1
10-year rank change
Róisín through the years
Compare with another name →Show the numbers
| Year | Babies (girls) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 146 | #24 |
| 2024 | 140 | #29 |
| 2023 | 142 | #32 |
| 2022 | 179 | #27 |
| 2021 | 172 | #28 |
| 2020 | 170 | #27 |
| 2019 | 160 | #36 |
| 2018 | 161 | #36 |
| 2017 | 151 | #37 |
| 2016 | 186 | #32 |
| 2015 | 226 | #25 |
| 2014 | 162 | #37 |
| 2013 | 178 | #37 |
| 2012 | 229 | #31 |
| 2011 | 223 | #34 |
| 2010 | 224 | #32 |
| 2009 | 257 | #27 |
| 2008 | 250 | #28 |
| 2007 | 233 | #27 |
| 2006 | 233 | #27 |
| 2005 | 280 | #23 |
| 2004 | 237 | #27 |
| 2003 | 222 | #27 |
| 2002 | 228 | #24 |
| 2001 | 239 | #25 |
| 2000 | 245 | #23 |
| 1999 | 254 | #17 |
| 1998 | 213 | #20 |
| 1997 | 272 | #21 |
| 1996 | 248 | #22 |
| 1995 | 182 | #30 |
| 1994 | 179 | #30 |
| 1993 | 191 | #29 |
| 1992 | 198 | #29 |
| 1991 | 183 | #31 |
| 1990 | 169 | #36 |
| 1989 | 168 | #32 |
| 1988 | 138 | #51 |
| 1987 | 148 | #49 |
| 1986 | 147 | #55 |
| 1985 | 138 | #57 |
| 1984 | 141 | #60 |
| 1983 | 133 | #64 |
| 1982 | 161 | #57 |
| 1981 | 150 | #60 |
| 1980 | 127 | #71 |
| 1979 | 107 | #81 |
| 1978 | 125 | #71 |
| 1977 | 93 | #90 |
| 1976 | 108 | #79 |
| 1975 | 96 | #85 |
| 1974 | 98 | #87 |
| 1973 | 92 | #92 |
| 1972 | 90 | #91 |
| 1971 | 62 | #118 |
| 1970 | 46 | #134 |
| 1969 | 61 | #113 |
| 1968 | 49 | #117 |
| 1967 | 44 | #123 |
| 1966 | 33 | #146 |
| 1965 | 36 | #135 |
| 1964 | 24 | #154 |
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 Róisín mean?
Little rose
Irish, from Róis (Rose) with the small ending -ín.
Say it right
roeSHEEN
The slender "s" sounds like "sh". In Connacht and Ulster the stress often falls on the first syllable: ROE-sheen.
Not:ROY-sinROSS-in
The story of Róisín
Róisín is Róis, the Irish form of Rose, with the small ending -ín, so it is usually understood as “little rose”. Róis itself seems to have come to Ireland with the Anglo-Normans. Patrick Woulfe, writing in 1923, traced the Norman name to a Germanic root rather than to the flower, though the link with the rose has long since stuck.
The name has a special place in Irish culture through Róisín Dubh, “dark little rose”, a sixteenth-century song in which Róisín stands for Ireland itself. James Clarence Mangan’s English version, “Dark Rosaleen”, made it known far beyond Irish speakers.
Róisín has been given throughout the CSO records and reached number 17 in 1999. Before 2018 the CSO did not record fadas, so the long-run figures combine Róisín and Roisin. The spellings are now counted separately: in 2025 the spelling Róisín alone was number 29, while all spellings together would place it 24th.
Say it differently where you're from, or spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Róisín (Irish proper noun)
- Wikipedia: Róisín
- Patrick Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Róisín | 135 | 1,123 |
| Roisin | 6 | 8,762 |
| Roisín | 5 | 75 |
| Roísín | under 3 | 13 |
| Róisin | under 3 | 4 |
In Northern Ireland
#177 in 2025 with 10 babies. Best rank #59 (1998); 427 babies since 1997.
Source: NISRA, Open Government Licence.