Sinead: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Sinead is an Irish girl's name meaning “God is gracious.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Irish spelling
- Sinéad
- Meaning
- God is gracious
- Gender
- Girl
- English forms
- Jane, Janet, Janette
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 718 for girls (2025)
How do you pronounce Sinead?
Sinead is pronounced shin-AID. It has two syllables, with the stress on the second.
What does Sinead mean?
Sinéad is the Irish form of the French Jeannette, a diminutive of Jeanne, and serves as the Irish equivalent of Jane and Janet. Like Siobhán, it goes back through Johanna to the Hebrew Yohanan, “God is gracious.” Patrick Woulfe gave Jane, Jannet and Jenny as its English forms in 1923.
Sinéad de Valera, wife of Éamon de Valera, was born Jane Flanagan and gaelicized her name as Sinéad Ní Fhlannagáin. She was his Irish teacher at the Gaelic League before they married in 1910. Well-known modern bearers include the singer Sinéad O’Connor (1966–2023) and the actress Sinéad Cusack.
Sources: Behind the Name, Wikipedia, Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923), Dictionary of Irish Biography.
How popular is Sinead in Ireland?
In 2025, 4 baby girls in Ireland were named Sinéad, which made it No. 718 that year. That's down from No. 192 ten years earlier. It was most popular in 1975, when 825 baby girls were named Sinead, No. 2 that year. The records go back to 1964, when 53 baby girls were given the name.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | No. 718 (Sinéad) |
| 2024 | 11 | No. 342 (Sinéad) |
| 2023 | 17 | No. 237 (Sinéad) |
| 2022 | 9 | No. 559 (Sinéad) |
| 2021 | 17 | No. 336 (Sinéad) |
| 2020 | 9 | No. 410 (Sinéad) |
| 2019 | 18 | No. 296 (Sinéad) |
| 2018 | 24 | No. 244 (Sinéad) |
| 2017 | 29 | No. 178 (Sinead) |
| 2016 | 32 | No. 170 (Sinead) |
| 2015 | 29 | No. 192 (Sinead) |
| 2014 | 28 | No. 188 (Sinead) |
| 2013 | 47 | No. 131 (Sinead) |
| 2012 | 43 | No. 136 (Sinead) |
| 2011 | 73 | No. 94 (Sinead) |
| 2010 | 69 | No. 98 (Sinead) |
| 2009 | 86 | No. 82 (Sinead) |
| 2008 | 96 | No. 73 (Sinead) |
| 2007 | 105 | No. 65 (Sinead) |
| 2006 | 110 | No. 61 (Sinead) |
| 2005 | 137 | No. 47 (Sinead) |
| 2004 | 127 | No. 47 (Sinead) |
| 2003 | 153 | No. 38 (Sinead) |
| 2002 | 182 | No. 30 (Sinead) |
| 2001 | 162 | No. 33 (Sinead) |
| 2000 | 180 | No. 29 (Sinead) |
| 1999 | 196 | No. 26 (Sinead) |
| 1998 | 195 | No. 23 (Sinead) |
| 1997 | 282 | No. 20 (Sinead) |
| 1996 | 287 | No. 20 (Sinead) |
| 1995 | 253 | No. 20 (Sinead) |
| 1994 | 265 | No. 21 (Sinead) |
| 1993 | 300 | No. 17 (Sinead) |
| 1992 | 368 | No. 14 (Sinead) |
| 1991 | 411 | No. 11 (Sinead) |
| 1990 | 604 | No. 4 (Sinead) |
| 1989 | 450 | No. 9 (Sinead) |
| 1988 | 460 | No. 11 (Sinead) |
| 1987 | 429 | No. 12 (Sinead) |
| 1986 | 474 | No. 11 (Sinead) |
| 1985 | 381 | No. 15 (Sinead) |
| 1984 | 453 | No. 11 (Sinead) |
| 1983 | 541 | No. 8 (Sinead) |
| 1982 | 538 | No. 9 (Sinead) |
| 1981 | 610 | No. 6 (Sinead) |
| 1980 | 561 | No. 8 (Sinead) |
| 1979 | 594 | No. 5 (Sinead) |
| 1978 | 629 | No. 3 (Sinead) |
| 1977 | 694 | No. 2 (Sinead) |
| 1976 | 688 | No. 2 (Sinead) |
| 1975 | 825 | No. 2 (Sinead) |
| 1974 | 569 | No. 5 (Sinead) |
| 1973 | 659 | No. 4 (Sinead) |
| 1972 | 606 | No. 5 (Sinead) |
| 1971 | 598 | No. 5 (Sinead) |
| 1970 | 266 | No. 24 (Sinead) |
| 1969 | 192 | No. 41 (Sinead) |
| 1968 | 133 | No. 57 (Sinead) |
| 1967 | 121 | No. 60 (Sinead) |
| 1966 | 89 | No. 76 (Sinead) |
| 1965 | 58 | No. 108 (Sinead) |
| 1964 | 53 | No. 109 (Sinead) |
Sinead 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 Sinead, letter by letter.
- SSail, willow
- IIodhadh, yew
- NNion, ash
- EEadhadh, aspen
- AAilm, pine
- DDair, oak
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Sinead
Questions about Sinead
- How do you pronounce Sinead?
- Sinead is pronounced shin-AID. Two syllables, stress on the second. There's a short video above where you can hear it said.
- What does Sinead mean?
- Sinead means “God is gracious.”
- Is Sinead a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Sinead is a girl's name.
- How do you spell Sinead in Irish?
- In Irish it's spelled Sinéad. That's the spelling most parents in Ireland now register, according to the Central Statistics Office.
- What is Sinead in English?
- The English forms of Sinead are Jane, Janet and Janette.
- What is Jane in Irish?
- Jane in Irish is Sinead, pronounced shin-AID. Sinead means “God is gracious.”
- What is Janet in Irish?
- Janet in Irish is Sinead, pronounced shin-AID. Sinead means “God is gracious.”
- What is Janette in Irish?
- Janette in Irish is Sinead, pronounced shin-AID. Sinead means “God is gracious.”
- How popular is Sinead in Ireland?
- In 2025, Sinéad was No. 718 for girls in Ireland, with 4 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. It was most popular in 1975, at No. 2.