Sadhbh: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Sadhbh is an Irish girl's name meaning “sweet.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Meaning
- Sweet
- Gender
- Girl
- English forms
- Sive
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 32 for girls (2025)
How do you pronounce Sadhbh?
Sadhbh is pronounced SYVE. It has one syllable. Other spellings: Sadbh and Saibh.
What does Sadhbh mean?
Sadhbh comes from the Old Irish Sadb, probably from an old Celtic root meaning “sweet.” It was a common name in medieval Ireland.
In the Fenian tales, Sadhbh was the mother of Oisín. A dark druid, Fear Doirche, turned her into a deer when she refused his love. She regained her human form at the fort of Fionn mac Cumhaill and married him, but the druid later lured her away and changed her back, and years afterward Fionn found their son, Oisín, as a wild boy in the forest. Another Sadb, a legendary daughter of Conn of the Hundred Battles, was remembered as an ancestor of the Eóganacht kings of Munster. The anglicized form Sive gave its title to John B. Keane’s 1959 play.
Sources: Behind the Name, Wikipedia, en.wiktionary.org.
How popular is Sadhbh in Ireland?
In 2025, 129 baby girls in Ireland were named Sadhbh, which made it No. 32 that year. That's up from No. 53 ten years earlier. It first appears in the records in 1971, with 3 baby girls.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 129 | No. 32 |
| 2024 | 117 | No. 38 |
| 2023 | 120 | No. 40 |
| 2022 | 153 | No. 32 |
| 2021 | 150 | No. 35 |
| 2020 | 128 | No. 39 |
| 2019 | 145 | No. 37 |
| 2018 | 114 | No. 52 |
| 2017 | 104 | No. 61 |
| 2016 | 108 | No. 57 |
| 2015 | 123 | No. 53 |
| 2014 | 144 | No. 44 |
| 2013 | 108 | No. 67 |
| 2012 | 113 | No. 61 |
| 2011 | 132 | No. 56 |
| 2010 | 117 | No. 64 |
| 2009 | 111 | No. 69 |
| 2008 | 107 | No. 67 |
| 2007 | 95 | No. 70 |
| 2006 | 78 | No. 76 |
| 2005 | 77 | No. 73 |
| 2004 | 65 | No. 86 |
| 2003 | 66 | No. 75 |
| 2002 | 52 | No. 94 |
| 2001 | 47 | No. 103 |
| 2000 | 43 | No. 101 |
| 1999 | 22 | No. 165 |
| 1998 | 35 | No. 107 |
| 1997 | 46 | No. 110 |
| 1996 | 25 | No. 181 |
| 1995 | 23 | No. 187 |
| 1994 | 25 | No. 171 |
| 1993 | 19 | No. 204 |
| 1992 | 27 | No. 172 |
| 1991 | 17 | No. 224 |
| 1990 | 11 | No. 281 |
| 1989 | 11 | No. 285 |
| 1988 | 6 | No. 381 |
| 1987 | 10 | No. 310 |
| 1985 | 4 | No. 456 |
| 1984 | 15 | No. 252 |
| 1983 | 5 | No. 438 |
| 1981 | 5 | No. 423 |
| 1980 | 4 | No. 483 |
| 1979 | 3 | No. 523 |
| 1978 | 3 | No. 522 |
| 1977 | 5 | No. 429 |
| 1976 | 4 | No. 429 |
| 1972 | 4 | No. 428 |
| 1971 | 3 | No. 466 |
Sadhbh 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 Sadhbh, letter by letter.
- SSail, willow
- AAilm, pine
- DDair, oak
- HUath, hawthorn
- BBeith, birch
- HUath, hawthorn
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Sadhbh
Questions about Sadhbh
- How do you pronounce Sadhbh?
- Sadhbh is pronounced SYVE. One syllable.
- What does Sadhbh mean?
- Sadhbh means “sweet.”
- Is Sadhbh a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Sadhbh is a girl's name.
- What is Sadhbh in English?
- The English form of Sadhbh is Sive.
- How popular is Sadhbh in Ireland?
- In 2025, Sadhbh was No. 32 for girls in Ireland, with 129 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. That's the highest it has ever ranked.