Kiaran
A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "little dark one".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Kiaran. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kiaran today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kiaran births was 2011 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kiaran. 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 Kiaran with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kiaran. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2011
6 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2011 SSA rank
#11,632
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Kiaran: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Kiaran 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 Kiaran during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Kiaran
The name Kiaran is an anglicized version of the Irish name Ciarán, which originated from the Gaelic word "ciar," meaning "dark" or "black." This name has its roots in ancient Celtic culture and is believed to have been in use since the 5th century AD.
In Irish mythology, Ciarán was the name of one of the sons of Fergus mac Róich, a legendary king of Ulster. The name gained prominence with the birth of Saint Ciarán of Saigir, also known as Ciarán the Elder, who lived in the 5th century and is regarded as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.
Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, also known as Ciarán the Younger, was another influential figure who lived in the 6th century. He was the founder of the famous monastery of Clonmacnoise, which became a renowned center of learning and spirituality in medieval Ireland.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kiaran can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention several individuals with the name Ciarán, including abbots, scholars, and ecclesiastical figures.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kiaran or its variations:
1. Kiaran Doherty (1828-1891), an Irish Catholic priest and founder of St. Eunan's College in Letterkenny, Ireland.
2. Kiaran McDonald (1826-1913), an Irish-born Catholic bishop who served as the first Bishop of Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, Canada.
3. Kiaran Madden (born 1961), an Irish former Gaelic football player and manager, known for his successful tenure with the Galway senior football team.
4. Kiaran O'Loughlin (born 1967), an Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for various clubs in England and Scotland.
5. Kiaran Timmins (born 1989), an Irish musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Inhaler.
The name Kiaran has maintained its popularity in Ireland and among the Irish diaspora, carrying with it a rich cultural heritage and historical significance rooted in the ancient Celtic traditions of the Emerald Isle.
People
Kiaran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kiaran as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kiaran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kiaran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kiaran 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Kiaran a common name?
We classify Kiaran as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kiaran most popular?
The single biggest year for Kiaran was 2011, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kiaran is about 15 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 Kiaran in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kiaran a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kiaran in the SSA data are male. 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 Kiaran still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kiaran 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 Kiaran 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 many people have Kiaran as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.