Eabha: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Eabha is an Irish girl's name meaning “life.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Irish spelling
- Éabha
- Meaning
- Life
- Gender
- Girl
- English forms
- Eve, Eva
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 2 for girls (2025)
How do you pronounce Eabha?
Eabha is pronounced AY-va. It has two syllables, with the stress on the first. It can also be said AY-wa.
What does Eabha mean?
Éabha is the Irish form of Eve, the name of the first woman in the Bible. It comes from the Hebrew Chawwah, which is traditionally linked with a word meaning “to live.” The name reached Irish early, appearing in Old Irish as Eua, and in Irish Adam and Eve are Ádhamh agus Éabha.
Éabha is a separate name from Aoife, although Aoife was often written as Eva or Eve in English because the two sound alike; the 12th-century noblewoman Aoife MacMurrough is known as Eva of Leinster. The sean-nós singer Éabha McMahon, a former member of Celtic Woman, is a well-known bearer.
Sources: Behind the Name, kaikki.org, namesofireland.blogspot.com, Wikipedia, irishecho.com.
How popular is Eabha in Ireland?
In 2025, 294 baby girls in Ireland were named Éabha, which made it No. 2 that year. Another 12 were registered as Eabha, Eábha or Èabha. That's up from No. 52 ten years earlier. It first appears in the records in 1990, with 3 baby girls.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 306 | No. 2 (Éabha) |
| 2024 | 311 | No. 2 (Éabha) |
| 2023 | 256 | No. 8 (Éabha) |
| 2022 | 287 | No. 6 (Éabha) |
| 2021 | 308 | No. 5 (Éabha) |
| 2020 | 250 | No. 16 (Éabha) |
| 2019 | 193 | No. 29 (Éabha) |
| 2018 | 130 | No. 48 (Éabha) |
| 2017 | 125 | No. 50 (Eabha) |
| 2016 | 133 | No. 45 (Eabha) |
| 2015 | 126 | No. 52 (Eabha) |
| 2014 | 115 | No. 60 (Eabha) |
| 2013 | 130 | No. 52 (Eabha) |
| 2012 | 109 | No. 62 (Eabha) |
| 2011 | 121 | No. 64 (Eabha) |
| 2010 | 128 | No. 56 (Eabha) |
| 2009 | 131 | No. 56 (Eabha) |
| 2008 | 140 | No. 53 (Eabha) |
| 2007 | 114 | No. 62 (Eabha) |
| 2006 | 111 | No. 60 (Eabha) |
| 2005 | 109 | No. 54 (Eabha) |
| 2004 | 95 | No. 62 (Eabha) |
| 2003 | 68 | No. 74 (Eabha) |
| 2002 | 51 | No. 99 (Eabha) |
| 2001 | 27 | No. 152 (Eabha) |
| 2000 | 26 | No. 151 (Eabha) |
| 1999 | 15 | No. 220 (Eabha) |
| 1998 | 11 | No. 241 (Eabha) |
| 1997 | 4 | No. 496 (Eabha) |
| 1996 | 5 | No. 429 (Eabha) |
| 1995 | 8 | No. 327 (Eabha) |
| 1992 | 3 | No. 523 (Eabha) |
| 1990 | 3 | No. 517 (Eabha) |
Eabha 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 Eabha, letter by letter.
- EEadhadh, aspen
- AAilm, pine
- BBeith, birch
- HUath, hawthorn
- AAilm, pine
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Eabha
Questions about Eabha
- How do you pronounce Eabha?
- Eabha is pronounced AY-va. Two syllables, stress on the first.
- What does Eabha mean?
- Eabha means “life.”
- Is Eabha a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Eabha is a girl's name.
- How do you spell Eabha in Irish?
- In Irish it's spelled Éabha. That's the spelling most parents in Ireland now register, according to the Central Statistics Office.
- What is Eabha in English?
- The English forms of Eabha are Eve and Eva.
- How popular is Eabha in Ireland?
- In 2025, Éabha was No. 2 for girls in Ireland, with 294 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. That's the highest it has ever ranked.