Niamh

What Niamh means

Irish, meaning “brightness, lustre, sheen”

From the noun niamh (“brightness, lustre, sheen”), from Middle Irish níam (“brilliance, beauty”), itself from Old Irish ném (“lustre”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Niamh” (revision 87953187), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Niamh?

US: Rising: up from #4144 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #109 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2008, when 74 girls got the name (#2538 that year). First in the US records in 1969.

How common

• About 1 in 37,378 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,111 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 320 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NY (0.08 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Niamh is #3517 in the US and #208 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Niamh were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

If you like Niamh

Girls

• Delaney#242“from the alder grove”^*
• Isabel#176“my God is an oath”^*
• Isabelle#166Variant of Elizabeth, meaning “my God is an oath”^*
• Grace#38From the word “grace”^*
• Autumn#88Editor’s note Down from #69 in 2015 to #88 in 2025 in the US
• Aaliyah#101Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1976, with 18 babies

For a brother

• Isaiah#57Editor’s note Down from #49 in 2015 to #57 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 320 US boys in the 2025 records
• Cade#248“lump, swelling”^*
• Caden#201Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #201 vs #745 in 2025
• Hayden#161“hay + valley”^*
• Jack#15Short form of John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”^*
• Griffin#222Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #222 vs #1,035 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Niamh’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.