Only five parents in the world gave their child this name last year
Names as Gaeilge are super popular, I have one myself. And some are definitely more popular than others, but one in particular is in danger of becoming extinct.
Irish digital creator Vivienne Sayers O’Callaghan shared on social media that one Irish name is “about to go extinct and nobody’s talking about it.”
Sayers O’Callaghan says that some of the more popular boys’ names are Rían, Oisín, and Séan. For Girls, Éabha, Fiadh, and Sadhbh are popular.
CSO data shows other popular Irish boys’ names in 2024 were Cillian, Tadhg, and Fionn.
However, there’s one Irish name proving quite unpopular with new parents.
Sayers O’Callaghan says that only “five parents in the world” named their child ‘Daimhín’ in 2024.
Translated into English, ‘Daimhín’ means ‘little deer’ or ‘little ox’, according to the social media star.
“As an Irish woman who’s lived in Ireland for 20 years, I’ve never met anyone with this name.”
And as it can be pronounced in many ways, she also connects ‘Daimhín’ with another Irish word.
“Now, also being a fluent Irish speaker myself, I couldn’t help but notice the similarity between ‘Damh’, ‘Daimhín’ and the Irish language word for spider, ‘damhán alla’ – ‘damhán alla’, which directly translates to ‘little ox of the wall’.”
“I don’t know who came up with that one.”
But don’t worry, says Sayers O’Callaghan. No matter how you pronounce it, “depending on what parts of the country you’re from”, it normally just means ‘little deer’.
The CSO’s Top 10 boys’ names of 2024 are:
- Jack
- Noah
- Rían
- Cillian
- James
- Tadhg
- Fionn
- Liam
- Oisín
- Charlie
