Maebh: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Maebh is an Irish girl's name meaning “the cause of great joy.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Irish spelling
- Méabh
- Meaning
- The cause of great joy
- Gender
- Girl
- English forms
- Maeve
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 38 for girls (2025)
How do you pronounce Maebh?
Maebh is pronounced MAYV. It has one syllable. Other spellings: Maeve.
What does Maebh mean?
From an old Irish name Madb (or Medb), “the cause of great joy” or “she who intoxicates”. The great warrior queen of Connacht and embodiment of sovereignty she stars in Ireland’s greatest epic “The Cattle Raid of Cooley” (read the legend). She left king Conchobhar Mac Nessa for Ailill because “you are a man without meanness, fear or jealousy, a match for my own greatness.” But the couple quarrelled over who had the most possessions. Maebh’s bull had defected to Ailill’s herd and so she bought Daire’s brown bull. When Daire went back on the deal she went to war with Cuchulainn (read the legend) and the province of Ulster to recover the bull.
How popular is Maebh in Ireland?
In 2025, 116 baby girls in Ireland were named Méabh, which made it No. 38 that year. Another 16 were registered as Maebh or Meabh. That's up from No. 83 ten years earlier. The most babies got the name in 2023: 135. It first appears in the records in 1976, with 5 baby girls.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 132 | No. 38 (Méabh) |
| 2024 | 115 | No. 50 (Méabh) |
| 2023 | 135 | No. 44 (Méabh) |
| 2022 | 94 | No. 65 (Méabh) |
| 2021 | 120 | No. 57 (Méabh) |
| 2020 | 82 | No. 77 (Méabh) |
| 2019 | 88 | No. 87 (Méabh) |
| 2018 | 87 | No. 103 (Méabh) |
| 2017 | 106 | No. 76 (Meabh) |
| 2016 | 96 | No. 82 (Meabh) |
| 2015 | 100 | No. 83 (Meabh) |
| 2014 | 92 | No. 89 (Meabh) |
| 2013 | 70 | No. 109 (Meabh) |
| 2012 | 92 | No. 88 (Meabh) |
| 2011 | 95 | No. 92 (Meabh) |
| 2010 | 77 | No. 107 (Meabh) |
| 2009 | 88 | No. 111 (Meabh) |
| 2008 | 93 | No. 88 (Meabh) |
| 2007 | 71 | No. 110 (Meabh) |
| 2006 | 63 | No. 113 (Meabh) |
| 2005 | 66 | No. 108 (Meabh) |
| 2004 | 54 | No. 122 (Meabh) |
| 2003 | 49 | No. 121 (Meabh) |
| 2002 | 28 | No. 208 (Meabh) |
| 2001 | 42 | No. 136 (Meabh) |
| 2000 | 31 | No. 159 (Meabh) |
| 1999 | 30 | No. 165 (Meabh) |
| 1998 | 25 | No. 179 (Meabh) |
| 1997 | 31 | No. 213 (Meabh) |
| 1996 | 41 | No. 160 (Meabh) |
| 1995 | 32 | No. 162 (Meabh) |
| 1994 | 20 | No. 240 (Meabh) |
| 1993 | 16 | No. 266 (Meabh) |
| 1992 | 17 | No. 282 (Meabh) |
| 1991 | 16 | No. 273 (Meabh) |
| 1990 | 25 | No. 201 (Meabh) |
| 1989 | 20 | No. 272 (Maebh) |
| 1988 | 14 | No. 304 (Meabh) |
| 1987 | 11 | No. 348 (Meabh) |
| 1986 | 12 | No. 356 (Maebh) |
| 1985 | 9 | No. 421 (Meabh) |
| 1984 | 14 | No. 320 (Meabh) |
| 1983 | 7 | No. 476 (Meabh) |
| 1982 | 7 | No. 467 (Meabh) |
| 1981 | 3 | No. 533 (Meabh) |
| 1980 | 7 | No. 483 (Maebh) |
| 1979 | 8 | No. 420 (Maebh) |
| 1976 | 5 | No. 392 (Meabh) |
Maebh 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 Maebh, letter by letter.
- MMuin, vine
- AAilm, pine
- EEadhadh, aspen
- BBeith, birch
- HUath, hawthorn
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Maebh
Questions about Maebh
- How do you pronounce Maebh?
- Maebh is pronounced MAYV. One syllable. There's a short video above where you can hear it said.
- What does Maebh mean?
- Maebh means “the cause of great joy.”
- Is Maebh a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Maebh is a girl's name.
- How do you spell Maebh in Irish?
- In Irish it's spelled Méabh. That's the spelling most parents in Ireland now register, according to the Central Statistics Office.
- What is Maebh in English?
- The English form of Maebh is Maeve.
- How popular is Maebh in Ireland?
- In 2025, Méabh was No. 38 for girls in Ireland, with 116 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. That's the highest it has ever ranked.