Could this Irish girl’s name be the fastest-rising name in the Irish charts, ever? Our research indicates that it may well be.
It’s one of those Irish names that have become very popular in recent years; Irish words that were never traditionally given as names – think Fiadh, which is commonly thought to mean ‘wild,' and Féile, which means ‘festival.'
Irish parents are getting creative with their names of Irish origin – and we’re here for it!
This Irish girl’s name rose an incredible 30 places in the CSO’s name rankings from 2024 to 2025. In 2014, it was given to 114 babies, coming in at number 40 on the name list. In 2025, it is at ten in the top ten, having been given to 209 baby girls.
The name is Éala, which means ‘swan’. Kind of. The Irish word for swan is ‘eala’, without the fada over the letter e, and it’s pronounced ‘ah-la’. The name in the charts does have the fada over the ‘E,' giving it a slightly different pronunciation, ‘ay-la.' (Funnily enough, the name Ayla, spelt that way, is the current [2025] top name for girls in Limerick City.)
Because of this, it is probably more accurate to say that the name Éala is inspired by the Irish word for swan, rather than that it means swan.
The name only entered the name charts in 2018, ranking 411, with 10 baby girls given the name. It has charmed quite a few parents since its first appearance, including Carl Mullen and his wife, Aisling, who named their middle child Éala.
In 2019, the name jumped to 180th place, and it stayed at the top end of the top 200 until 2022, when it entered the top 100 names for the first time, coming at 91st place.
In 2023, 100 baby girls were named Éala, bringing the name to 53 in the charts. In 2024, it ranked 40th, and at number 10 in 2025, is the only way down to the top five in 2026? Only time will tell!
What do you think of this Irish girl's name?
*This article was originally published on RollerCoaster.ie.