Cathal: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Cathal is an Irish boy's name meaning “battle ruler.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated November 2026
- Meaning
- Battle ruler
- Gender
- Boy
- English forms
- Charles
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 90 for boys (2025)
How do you pronounce Cathal?
Cathal is pronounced KA-hal. It has two syllables, with the stress on the first. Other spellings: Cahal.
What does Cathal mean?
Cathal is an old Irish name made of two Celtic elements, cath, “battle,” and val, “rule,” so it is read as “battle ruler.” Patrick Woulfe (1923) traced it to a Celtic form meaning “battle-mighty.” It has been anglicised as Cahal and Cahill, and also as Charles, a name of entirely different origin.
St. Cathal, known in Italy as San Cataldo, was a seventh-century Irish monk from Munster. Returning from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he was shipwrecked near Taranto in southern Italy, became its bishop and is its patron saint. Tradition says he calmed a storm by throwing his ring into the sea, and a freshwater spring in the Mar Piccolo is called the Anello di San Cataldo, “ring of St. Cataldo.”
Sources: Wikipedia, Behind the Name, Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923).
How popular is Cathal in Ireland?
In 2025, 64 baby boys in Ireland were named Cathal, which made it No. 90 that year. That's down from No. 66 ten years earlier. It was most popular in 2005, when 226 baby boys were named Cathal, No. 31 that year. The most babies got the name in 1997: 243. The records go back to 1964, when 32 baby boys were given the name.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 64 | No. 90 (Cathal) |
| 2024 | 67 | No. 88 (Cathal) |
| 2023 | 78 | No. 75 (Cathal) |
| 2022 | 92 | No. 73 (Cathal) |
| 2021 | 71 | No. 89 (Cathal) |
| 2020 | 98 | No. 68 (Cathal) |
| 2019 | 107 | No. 61 (Cathal) |
| 2018 | 113 | No. 60 (Cathal) |
| 2017 | 114 | No. 61 (Cathal) |
| 2016 | 116 | No. 65 (Cathal) |
| 2015 | 118 | No. 66 (Cathal) |
| 2014 | 121 | No. 69 (Cathal) |
| 2013 | 156 | No. 54 (Cathal) |
| 2012 | 160 | No. 56 (Cathal) |
| 2011 | 208 | No. 44 (Cathal) |
| 2010 | 202 | No. 42 (Cathal) |
| 2009 | 195 | No. 47 (Cathal) |
| 2008 | 233 | No. 36 (Cathal) |
| 2007 | 210 | No. 38 (Cathal) |
| 2006 | 219 | No. 35 (Cathal) |
| 2005 | 226 | No. 31 (Cathal) |
| 2004 | 209 | No. 34 (Cathal) |
| 2003 | 170 | No. 39 (Cathal) |
| 2002 | 179 | No. 38 (Cathal) |
| 2001 | 198 | No. 38 (Cathal) |
| 2000 | 207 | No. 35 (Cathal) |
| 1999 | 162 | No. 42 (Cathal) |
| 1998 | 195 | No. 31 (Cathal) |
| 1997 | 243 | No. 37 (Cathal) |
| 1996 | 197 | No. 43 (Cathal) |
| 1995 | 164 | No. 46 (Cathal) |
| 1994 | 145 | No. 51 (Cathal) |
| 1993 | 173 | No. 47 (Cathal) |
| 1992 | 155 | No. 55 (Cathal) |
| 1991 | 155 | No. 52 (Cathal) |
| 1990 | 142 | No. 56 (Cathal) |
| 1989 | 128 | No. 59 (Cathal) |
| 1988 | 123 | No. 61 (Cathal) |
| 1987 | 145 | No. 54 (Cathal) |
| 1986 | 116 | No. 66 (Cathal) |
| 1985 | 126 | No. 59 (Cathal) |
| 1984 | 134 | No. 63 (Cathal) |
| 1983 | 123 | No. 65 (Cathal) |
| 1982 | 134 | No. 66 (Cathal) |
| 1981 | 115 | No. 74 (Cathal) |
| 1980 | 135 | No. 67 (Cathal) |
| 1979 | 156 | No. 60 (Cathal) |
| 1978 | 112 | No. 71 (Cathal) |
| 1977 | 119 | No. 72 (Cathal) |
| 1976 | 103 | No. 74 (Cathal) |
| 1975 | 123 | No. 68 (Cathal) |
| 1974 | 108 | No. 69 (Cathal) |
| 1973 | 114 | No. 70 (Cathal) |
| 1972 | 119 | No. 67 (Cathal) |
| 1971 | 90 | No. 80 (Cathal) |
| 1970 | 68 | No. 90 (Cathal) |
| 1969 | 73 | No. 82 (Cathal) |
| 1968 | 54 | No. 86 (Cathal) |
| 1967 | 58 | No. 82 (Cathal) |
| 1966 | 55 | No. 85 (Cathal) |
| 1965 | 31 | No. 105 (Cathal) |
| 1964 | 32 | No. 96 (Cathal) |
Cathal 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 Cathal, letter by letter.
- CColl, hazel
- AAilm, pine
- TTinne, holly
- HUath, hawthorn
- AAilm, pine
- LLuis, rowan
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Cathal
Questions about Cathal
- How do you pronounce Cathal?
- Cathal is pronounced KA-hal, with two syllables and the stress on the first.
- What does Cathal mean?
- Cathal is an Irish boy's name meaning “battle ruler.”
- Is Cathal a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Cathal is a boy's name.
- What is Cathal in English?
- The English form of Cathal is Charles.
- How popular is Cathal in Ireland?
- In 2025, Cathal was No. 90 for boys in Ireland, with 64 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. It was most popular in 2005, at No. 31.
Sources: popularity from the Central Statistics Office, table VSA50 (CC BY 4.0). Meaning and origin from Wikipedia, Behind the Name and Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923). How we research names: our sources. Spotted a mistake? support@babynamesofireland.com