Ceilidh
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- KAY-lee
- Origin
- Scottish
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,990 for girls
Ceilidh is a girls' name of Scottish origin, meaning “social gathering, visit”. In 2025 it ranked 5,990th for girls in the UK (3 babies).
What does Ceilidh mean?
Scottish: Scottish Gaelic ceilidh, from Old Irish ceile 'companion'
“social gathering, visit”
From the Gaelic word for a traditional social evening of folk music, dancing and storytelling.
Is Ceilidh a girl's or a boy's name?
Ceilidh is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 girls in the UK. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Ceilidh in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,990among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 93,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 3 girls in the UK were named Ceilidh, making it the 5,990th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 7,326th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 7 girls.
Half of all the girls named Ceilidh in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In 2025, 45 girls in the UK were given Ceilidh or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #785, up from #5,990 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 780th in Scotland.
Ceilidh in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,990 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,966 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 1 | #7,487 |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 1 | #7,326 |
| 2019 | 1 | #7,346 |
| 2018 | 1 | #7,536 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,967 |
| 2016 | 2 | #7,579 |
| 2015 | 1 | #7,629 |
| 2014 | 1 | #7,592 |
| 2013 | 1 | #7,690 |
| 2012 | 1 | #7,881 |
| 2011 | 2 | #7,640 |
| 2010 | 1 | #7,520 |
| 2009 | 5 | #4,141 |
| 2008 | 3 | #5,772 |
| 2007 | 4 | #4,494 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 2 | #6,264 |
| 2004 | 1 | #6,173 |
| 2003 | 5 | #3,233 |
| 2002 | 2 | #5,472 |
| 2001 | 1 | #5,353 |
| 2000 | 4 | #3,399 |
| 1999 | 3 | #4,041 |
| 1998 | 1 | #5,152 |
| 1997 | 7 | #2,281 |
| 1996 | 2 | #4,986 |
Names like Ceilidh
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Caragh Caoimhe Cassidy Keira Teagan Aoibheann Clodagh Raegan Eilidh Caitlin Ffion Eireann
Other spellings of Ceilidh
More Scottish names
Isla Finley Logan Arabella Cameron Bonnie Paisley Brody Carson Maxwell Brodie Finlay Blair Lennox Skye Knox
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, “Ceilidh: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ceilidh, updated 20 October 2026.