Aine
Feminine Irish Gaelic name meaning "radiant" or "splendid".
Name Census estimates that about 1,617 living Americans carry the first name Aine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aine today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aine births was 2004 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aine. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Aine with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 211,969 Americans
Peak year
2004
68 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,112
Tracked since 1966
Census
Aine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,546 people with the first name Aine, which placed it at #9,126 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,126
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,546 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aine is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Aine described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Aine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 1,234
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 133
- Two or more races6.4% · 99
- Black or African American2.6% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Popularity
Aine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aine from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 577 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Aine remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aine by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, California, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Aine, while Washington, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aine
The name Aine originates from Irish Gaelic culture and is derived from the Old Irish word "aon", meaning "radiant" or "joyous". It is the name of the ancient Celtic goddess of summer, wealth, and sovereignty, who was associated with the sun, fair weather, and fertility.
Aine was a prominent figure in Irish mythology, appearing in various ancient tales and legends. One of the most well-known references is in the medieval Irish text "The Wooing of Emer", where she is portrayed as a beautiful and powerful deity who grants prosperity and abundance to those who honor her.
The earliest recorded use of the name Aine dates back to the 9th century, as evidenced by inscriptions and medieval Irish manuscripts. Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne this name.
One of the most famous was Aine Ní Dhonnabháin (1907-1988), an Irish language writer and teacher who played a crucial role in preserving and promoting Irish culture and literature. Her works, including novels, short stories, and poetry, were widely acclaimed and influential.
Another notable figure was Aine Ní Ghallchobhair (1940-2022), an Irish singer and folk musician who helped revive and popularize traditional Irish music. She was renowned for her rich voice and her ability to captivate audiences with her renditions of ancient ballads and songs.
In the realm of politics, Aine Brady (born 1959) is a prominent Irish politician who served as a member of the European Parliament and has been a strong advocate for human rights and environmental issues.
Aine Ni Mhuiri (1922-2011) was a renowned Irish artist and sculptor, known for her intricate and expressive works that often depicted scenes from Irish mythology and folklore.
Aine Ní Ghlinn (1942-2018) was a respected Irish academic and linguist who made significant contributions to the study and preservation of the Irish language and its dialects.
These individuals, spanning various fields and eras, have all played a role in carrying forward the legacy and cultural significance of the name Aine, which continues to be cherished and celebrated in Irish culture today.
People
Aine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,617 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aine going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 211,969 US residents.
Is Aine a common name?
We classify Aine as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,648 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aine most popular?
The single biggest year for Aine was 2004, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aine is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,546 people with the name Aine, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,126 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Aine in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Aine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aine leans strongly female. 1,524 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 22 male bearers (1.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Aine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aine is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Aine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (1,234 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Aine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aine in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Aine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aine in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Aine can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Aine?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Aine, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.