Kieran

Kieran: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “little dark one”
Origin: Irish
Say it: KEER-un · 2 syllables
Used for: Boys (91% of all uses)

Anglicized form of Irish Ciarán, from ciar 'dark' with a diminutive ending. It was borne by several early Irish saints.

Irish names Classic names International names

How popular is Kieran?

2024218 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Kieran in 2024724

2024 rank#440 boys

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 188018,382

Kieran has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Kieran

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Kyrinuncertain · Unknown
Liamresolute protector · Irish
Aidenlittle fire · Irish
Nolandescendant of Nuallán · Irish
Ryanlittle king · Irish
Declanuncertain, possibly full of goodness · Irish
Connorlover of hounds · Irish
Kevinhandsome, gentle, kind · Irish

Kieran questions

What does the name Kieran mean?

Kieran means "little dark one". It comes from Irish. Anglicized form of Irish Ciarán, from ciar 'dark' with a diminutive ending. It was borne by several early Irish saints.

Is Kieran a boy or girl name?

Kieran is mainly a boy's name in US records (91% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Kieran?

724 US babies were named Kieran in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Kieran?

Kieran is usually pronounced KEER-un.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.