Cadhla: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Cadhla is an Irish girl's name meaning “beautiful.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Meaning
- Beautiful
- Gender
- Girl
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 89 for girls (2025)
How do you pronounce Cadhla?
Cadhla is pronounced KYE-la. It has two syllables, with the stress on the first.
What does Cadhla mean?
Cadhla comes from a literary Irish word meaning “beautiful,” also glossed as “comely” or “graceful.” It was historically a man’s name and survives in the surname Ó Cadhla, “descendant of Cadhla,” which is anglicized as Kiely, Kealy, Keely and Quealy.
Patrick Woulfe’s Irish Names and Surnames (1923) records two Ó Cadhla families who were once chiefs, one in Connemara and one at Tuath Luimnigh near the city of Limerick. Today Cadhla is given to girls, one of a number of modern names taken directly from Irish words.
Sources: Behind the Name, en.wiktionary.org, Ó Dónaill's Irish dictionary (teanglann.ie), Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923), Wikipedia.
How popular is Cadhla in Ireland?
In 2025, 55 baby girls in Ireland were named Cadhla, which made it No. 89 that year. Another 4 were registered as Cádhla. That's up from No. 276 ten years earlier. It was most popular in 2023, when 58 baby girls were named Cadhla, No. 87 that year. It first appears in the records in 1994, with 3 baby girls.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 59 | No. 89 (Cadhla) |
| 2024 | 41 | No. 116 (Cadhla) |
| 2023 | 58 | No. 87 (Cadhla) |
| 2022 | 48 | No. 110 (Cadhla) |
| 2021 | 46 | No. 117 (Cadhla) |
| 2020 | 30 | No. 160 (Cadhla) |
| 2019 | 20 | No. 235 (Cadhla) |
| 2018 | 15 | No. 299 (Cadhla) |
| 2017 | 10 | No. 396 (Cadhla) |
| 2016 | 18 | No. 254 (Cadhla) |
| 2015 | 18 | No. 276 (Cadhla) |
| 2014 | 11 | No. 404 (Cadhla) |
| 2013 | 21 | No. 246 (Cadhla) |
| 2012 | 19 | No. 264 (Cadhla) |
| 2011 | 10 | No. 437 (Cadhla) |
| 2010 | 13 | No. 377 (Cadhla) |
| 2009 | 15 | No. 314 (Cadhla) |
| 2008 | 12 | No. 383 (Cadhla) |
| 2007 | 12 | No. 348 (Cadhla) |
| 2006 | 7 | No. 464 (Cadhla) |
| 2005 | 6 | No. 461 (Cadhla) |
| 2004 | 5 | No. 511 (Cadhla) |
| 2001 | 4 | No. 498 (Cadhla) |
| 2000 | 8 | No. 324 (Cadhla) |
| 1998 | 3 | No. 498 (Cadhla) |
| 1997 | 4 | No. 496 (Cadhla) |
| 1994 | 3 | No. 502 (Cadhla) |
Cadhla in Ogham
Ogham is the oldest way of writing Irish. It was carved along the edges of standing stones, mostly between the 4th and 6th centuries, and read from the bottom up. In later tradition each letter was named after a tree or plant. Here’s Cadhla, letter by letter.
- CColl, hazel
- AAilm, pine
- DDair, oak
- HUath, hawthorn
- LLuis, rowan
- AAilm, pine
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Cadhla
Questions about Cadhla
- How do you pronounce Cadhla?
- Cadhla is pronounced KYE-la. Two syllables, stress on the first.
- What does Cadhla mean?
- Cadhla means “beautiful.”
- Is Cadhla a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Cadhla is a girl's name.
- How popular is Cadhla in Ireland?
- In 2025, Cadhla was No. 89 for girls in Ireland, with 55 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. It was most popular in 2023, at No. 87.