Niamh

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Girl · Old Irish

Niamh

Say it: NEEV

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Old Irish niam 'brightness, lustre, radiance'.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Revived in the 20th century from the Fenian tale of Oisín and Niamh and long among Ireland's most popular girls' names.

Its wave through time

Rare in the records

In the United States

1,417 babies given this name since 1969
At its height in 2008, about 1 in 25,500 girls
33 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

The family of the name

Other spellings: Neamh

Welsh	Nia

Famous bearers

Niamh Chinn Óir, Otherworld lover of Oisín

Names worth a look

ÁineGirlUncertain. Linked to Old Irish áine 'splendour, brilliance', a gloss some scholars accept and others doubt.Middle Ages · peak 2004

AoifeGirlUncertain. Often said to mean 'beauty' or 'radiance' (from aoibh), but this is not established; a link with the…Middle Ages · peak 2018

MáireGirlIrish form of Mary, from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is uncertain.Middle Ages

BasiliaGirlFrom Greek basileios 'royal', related to basileus 'king'.Middle Ages · forgotten

SorchaGirlIrish sorcha 'bright, radiant'. Long used to render English Sarah and Sally, which are unrelated.Middle Ages

FionnualaGirlFrom Old Irish Finnguala, from finn 'white, fair' and gúala 'shoulder'.Middle Ages

NaomiGirlHebrew No'omi, from no'am 'pleasantness'. In Ruth 1:20 she plays on the name, asking to be called Mara 'bitter' instead.Biblical · peak 2020

NoemiGirlThe Italian form of Naomi, from Hebrew No'omi 'pleasantness'.Modern · peak 2001

Where this comes from

Well-known works of literature
National birth statistics of European countries source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.