Ailbhe
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- AL-va
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #848 for girls
Big in Northern Ireland
Ailbhe is a girls' name of Irish origin. In 2025 it ranked 848th for girls in the UK (45 babies).
What does Ailbhe mean?
Irish
An old Irish name borne by legendary women and by Saint Ailbhe of Emly; it is pronounced like Alva.
Is Ailbhe a girl's or a boy's name?
Ailbhe is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 45 girls in the UK. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Ailbhe in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #848among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 45about 1 in 6,200 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 143% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 45 girls in the UK were named Ailbhe, making it the 848th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,647th.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had the most girls named Ailbhe of any year since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the girls named Ailbhe in the UK since 1996 were born between 2017 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 65 girls in the UK were given Ailbhe or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #598, up from #848 for this spelling alone.
- Ailbhe 45
- Alva 20
In 2023, 97% of the babies named Ailbhe in the UK were girls.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,512th in England and Wales, 632nd in Scotland and 96th in Northern Ireland.
Ailbhe in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 45 | #848 |
| 2024 | 40 | #947 |
| 2023 | 29 | #1,209 |
| 2022 | 28 | #1,248 |
| 2021 | 30 | #1,201 |
| 2020 | 19 | #1,647 |
| 2019 | 13 | #2,157 |
| 2018 | 15 | #2,000 |
| 2017 | 10 | #2,652 |
| 2016 | 13 | #2,224 |
| 2015 | 10 | #2,629 |
| 2014 | 8 | #3,031 |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,953 |
| 2012 | 8 | #3,148 |
| 2011 | 4 | #4,980 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 3 | #5,415 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 1 | #6,340 |
| 2004 | 2 | #6,098 |
| 2003 | 5 | #3,233 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 1 | #5,182 |
| 1998 | 2 | #5,081 |
| 1997 | 3 | #3,991 |
| 1996 | 3 | #3,935 |
Names like Ailbhe
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aoife Fiadh Maeve Aoibheann Eden Caoimhe Orla Eireann Eire Quinn Rowan Saoirse
Other spellings of Ailbhe
More Irish names
Oscar Rory Finn Aiden Ryan Nolan Cody Erin Ronan Connor Declan Casey Kennedy Callan Lennon Cillian
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Ailbhe: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ailbhe, updated 20 October 2026.