Padraig
Derived from the Latin name Patricius, meaning "of noble descent or patrician birth".
Name Census estimates that about 785 living Americans carry the first name Padraig. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Padraig today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Padraig births was 2009 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Padraig. 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.
People living today
785
~ 1 in 436,630 Americans
Peak year
2009
57 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,585
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Padraig: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Padraig from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 342 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Padraig 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 Padraig during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Padraigs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Padraig, while Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Padraig
The given name Padraig has its origins in the Irish language and Gaelic culture. It is the Irish version of the Latin name Patricius, which means "of noble birth" or "from a patrician family". The name can be traced back to the 5th century and is associated with Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
Padraig is derived from the Old Irish word "Patricc", which was the name given to Saint Patrick, who was born in Britain around 385 AD. He was captured and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16, but later escaped and returned to spread Christianity throughout the island. Saint Patrick is credited with converting many of the pagan Irish people to Christianity and is celebrated annually on March 17th, which is known as St. Patrick's Day.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Padraig can be found in the Book of Armagh, a 9th-century Irish manuscript that contains writings about Saint Patrick's life and mission. The name was also mentioned in various Irish annals and historical records throughout the Middle Ages.
Padraig remained a popular name among the Irish people throughout the centuries, and several notable figures in Irish history bore this name. One of the most famous was Padraig Pearse (1879-1916), a teacher, poet, and one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916, which aimed to end British rule in Ireland. Another notable Padraig was Padraig O'Conaire (1882-1928), an Irish writer and journalist who was a prominent figure in the Irish literary revival.
Other notable individuals with the name Padraig include Padraig Harrington (born 1971), an Irish professional golfer who has won three major championships; Padraig MacMathuna (born 1949), an Irish language activist and writer; and Padraig Aalen (1936-2012), an Irish prelate who served as the Bishop of Achonry from 1985 to 2008.
While the name Padraig has its roots in Irish culture, it has also been adopted by people of various backgrounds and nationalities around the world, particularly in countries with strong Irish communities or cultural influences.
People
Padraig + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Padraig as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Padraig: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Padraig?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 785 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Padraig 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 436,630 US residents.
Is Padraig a common name?
We classify Padraig as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 795 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Padraig most popular?
The single biggest year for Padraig was 2009, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Padraig is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Padraig a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Padraig 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.
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.