Eanna
A feminine Irish name meaning "little fire".
Name Census estimates that about 40 living Americans carry the first name Eanna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eanna today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eanna births was 1998 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eanna. 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 Eanna with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Eanna. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
40
~ 1 in 8,568,858 Americans
Peak year
1998
8 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2014 SSA rank
#15,105
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Eanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eanna from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 21 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Eanna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eanna 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 Eanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eanna
The given name Eanna has its origins in ancient Irish Gaelic culture, with roots dating back to the 5th century CE. It is derived from the Old Irish word "oan," meaning "lamb" or "sheep," combined with a diminutive suffix, forming a name that can be interpreted as "little lamb" or "lambkin."
This name is believed to have been associated with early Irish Christian monasteries and religious orders, where it may have been used as a term of endearment for novice monks or initiates. The earliest recorded instance of the name Eanna can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, an Irish chronicle from the 11th century, which mentions an individual by that name.
In the 6th century, there was an Irish saint known as Eanna of Arran, who founded a monastery on the island of Arran off the coast of Scotland. He is venerated in both Ireland and Scotland, and his feast day is celebrated on April 21st.
Another notable historical figure bearing the name Eanna was Eanna mac Fearghal, a 9th-century King of Leinster, a province in eastern Ireland. He ruled from around 820 to 835 CE and was involved in several conflicts with neighboring kingdoms.
In the 12th century, there was an Irish poet and historian named Eanna Ó Maoil Chonaire, who is known for his work titled "The Book of Fermoy." This text provides valuable insights into the history and genealogy of several prominent Irish families.
A more recent historical figure with the name Eanna was Eanna O'Callaghan, an Irish Jesuit priest and educator who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (1857-1927). He served as the president of University College Dublin from 1909 to 1925 and played a significant role in the development of higher education in Ireland.
While the name Eanna is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of Irish cultural heritage and continues to be used, particularly in areas with strong Irish roots and traditions.
People
Eanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eanna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 40 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eanna 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 8,568,858 US residents.
Is Eanna a common name?
We classify Eanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Eanna was 1998, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eanna is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Eanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eanna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eanna 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 Eanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eanna 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 Eanna 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Eanna?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Eanna at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.