Ciaran: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Ciaran is an Irish boy's name meaning “little dark one.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated November 2026
- Irish spelling
- Ciarán
- Meaning
- Little dark one
- Gender
- Boy
- English forms
- Kieran, Kieron, Keiran
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 149 for boys (2025)
How do you pronounce Ciaran?
Ciaran is pronounced KEER-awn. It has two syllables, with the stress on the first. It can also be said KEER-in.
What does Ciaran mean?
Ciaran, in Irish Ciarán, is an old name formed from ciar, “dark” or “black,” with a diminutive ending, so it means “little dark one.” Its English form is Kieran. Patrick Woulfe (1923) noted no fewer than fifteen Irish saints of the name in the Martyrology of Donegal.
Among them is St. Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c. 516–549), a carpenter’s son who studied under Finnian of Clonard and Enda of Aran. In 544 he founded the monastery of Clonmacnoise on the River Shannon, in what is now County Offaly. He died of plague in his early thirties, but Clonmacnoise became a great centre of learning and survived many Viking raids before the English garrison at Athlone looted it and left it in ruins in 1552.
Sources: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923), Ó Dónaill's Irish dictionary (teanglann.ie), Behind the Name, Wikipedia.
How popular is Ciaran in Ireland?
In 2025, 35 baby boys in Ireland were named Ciarán, which made it No. 149 that year. Another 14 were registered as Ciaran or Ciaràn. That's down from No. 64 ten years earlier. It was most popular in 2000, when 286 baby boys were named Ciaran, No. 23 that year. The most babies got the name in 1982: 359. The records go back to 1964, when 124 baby boys were given the name.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 49 | No. 149 (Ciarán) |
| 2024 | 30 | No. 200 (Ciarán) |
| 2023 | 54 | No. 115 (Ciarán) |
| 2022 | 36 | No. 157 (Ciarán) |
| 2021 | 49 | No. 153 (Ciarán) |
| 2020 | 58 | No. 129 (Ciarán) |
| 2019 | 62 | No. 118 (Ciarán) |
| 2018 | 61 | No. 117 (Ciarán) |
| 2017 | 89 | No. 78 (Ciaran) |
| 2016 | 81 | No. 90 (Ciaran) |
| 2015 | 120 | No. 64 (Ciaran) |
| 2014 | 137 | No. 61 (Ciaran) |
| 2013 | 107 | No. 74 (Ciaran) |
| 2012 | 143 | No. 62 (Ciaran) |
| 2011 | 155 | No. 57 (Ciaran) |
| 2010 | 166 | No. 53 (Ciaran) |
| 2009 | 170 | No. 54 (Ciaran) |
| 2008 | 217 | No. 40 (Ciaran) |
| 2007 | 200 | No. 41 (Ciaran) |
| 2006 | 227 | No. 33 (Ciaran) |
| 2005 | 226 | No. 31 (Ciaran) |
| 2004 | 253 | No. 30 (Ciaran) |
| 2003 | 244 | No. 30 (Ciaran) |
| 2002 | 252 | No. 28 (Ciaran) |
| 2001 | 264 | No. 25 (Ciaran) |
| 2000 | 286 | No. 23 (Ciaran) |
| 1999 | 230 | No. 30 (Ciaran) |
| 1998 | 237 | No. 24 (Ciaran) |
| 1997 | 306 | No. 25 (Ciaran) |
| 1996 | 327 | No. 25 (Ciaran) |
| 1995 | 297 | No. 27 (Ciaran) |
| 1994 | 269 | No. 29 (Ciaran) |
| 1993 | 287 | No. 26 (Ciaran) |
| 1992 | 303 | No. 24 (Ciaran) |
| 1991 | 287 | No. 24 (Ciaran) |
| 1990 | 286 | No. 26 (Ciaran) |
| 1989 | 291 | No. 30 (Ciaran) |
| 1988 | 317 | No. 28 (Ciaran) |
| 1987 | 347 | No. 25 (Ciaran) |
| 1986 | 295 | No. 36 (Ciaran) |
| 1985 | 344 | No. 28 (Ciaran) |
| 1984 | 285 | No. 35 (Ciaran) |
| 1983 | 307 | No. 35 (Ciaran) |
| 1982 | 359 | No. 31 (Ciaran) |
| 1981 | 288 | No. 39 (Ciaran) |
| 1980 | 297 | No. 40 (Ciaran) |
| 1979 | 253 | No. 42 (Ciaran) |
| 1978 | 222 | No. 46 (Ciaran) |
| 1977 | 207 | No. 51 (Ciaran) |
| 1976 | 181 | No. 53 (Ciaran) |
| 1975 | 193 | No. 52 (Ciaran) |
| 1974 | 180 | No. 57 (Ciaran) |
| 1973 | 216 | No. 45 (Ciaran) |
| 1972 | 183 | No. 51 (Ciaran) |
| 1971 | 173 | No. 50 (Ciaran) |
| 1970 | 166 | No. 43 (Ciaran) |
| 1969 | 161 | No. 43 (Ciaran) |
| 1968 | 111 | No. 55 (Ciaran) |
| 1967 | 120 | No. 49 (Ciaran) |
| 1966 | 125 | No. 50 (Ciaran) |
| 1965 | 124 | No. 51 (Ciaran) |
| 1964 | 124 | No. 49 (Ciaran) |
Ciaran 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 Ciaran, letter by letter.
- CColl, hazel
- IIodhadh, yew
- AAilm, pine
- RRuis, elder
- AAilm, pine
- NNion, ash
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Ciaran
Questions about Ciaran
- How do you pronounce Ciaran?
- Ciaran is pronounced KEER-awn, with two syllables and the stress on the first. It can also be said KEER-in.
- What does Ciaran mean?
- Ciaran is an Irish boy's name meaning “little dark one.”
- Is Ciaran a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Ciaran is a boy's name.
- How do you spell Ciaran in Irish?
- In Irish it's spelled Ciarán. That's the spelling most parents in Ireland now register, according to the Central Statistics Office.
- What is Ciaran in English?
- The English forms of Ciaran are Kieran, Kieron and Keiran.
- How popular is Ciaran in Ireland?
- In 2025, Ciarán was No. 149 for boys in Ireland, with 35 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. It was most popular in 2000, at No. 23.
Sources: popularity from the Central Statistics Office, table VSA50 (CC BY 4.0). Meaning and origin from Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923), Ó Dónaill's Irish dictionary (teanglann.ie), Behind the Name and Wikipedia. How we research names: our sources. Spotted a mistake? support@babynamesofireland.com