Larkin
- Gender
- Mostly boys
- Say it
- LAR-kin
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #3,644 for girls
Larkin is a name of Irish origin, meaning “little fierce one”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies) and 3,644th for girls in the US (41 babies).
What does Larkin mean?
Irish: Irish surname Ó Lorcáin; also an English pet form of Lawrence
“little fierce one”
Lorcán was the Irish name of St Laurence O'Toole; the poet Philip Larkin is the best-known bearer of the surname.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Larkin a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Larkin has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys. In 2025, it was given to 3 girls and 3 boys in the UK and 41 girls and 34 boys in the US.
How popular is Larkin in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 5,065th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3 about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Larkin, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 2013, with 4 boys. 3 girls were also named Larkin in 2025 (5,990th for girls).
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Larkin in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 3 | #4,989 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 3 | #4,913 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 1 | #6,416 |
| 2015 | 3 | #4,955 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,008 |
How popular is Larkin in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,644th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 41 about 1 in 39,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 50% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 41 girls in the US were named Larkin, making it the 3,644th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,115th. Its busiest year was 2006, with 115 girls. It first appears in the records in 1959. 34 boys were also named Larkin in 2025 (3,378th for boys).
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 7 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Larkin than any year since 2005.
Half of all the girls named Larkin in the US since 1880 were born between 2004 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 65 girls in the US were given Larkin or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #2,240, up from #3,644 for this spelling alone.
In 2025, 55% of the babies named Larkin in the US were girls.
Larkin in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 41 | #3,644 |
| 2024 | 44 | #3,516 |
| 2023 | 49 | #3,274 |
| 2022 | 63 | #2,720 |
| 2021 | 65 | #2,638 |
| 2020 | 86 | #2,115 |
| 2019 | 87 | #2,140 |
| 2018 | 97 | #2,014 |
| 2017 | 96 | #2,035 |
| 2016 | 93 | #2,093 |
| 2015 | 84 | #2,236 |
| 2014 | 85 | #2,213 |
| 2013 | 63 | #2,725 |
| 2012 | 56 | #3,005 |
| 2011 | 45 | #3,495 |
| 2010 | 67 | #2,670 |
| 2009 | 72 | #2,567 |
| 2008 | 79 | #2,419 |
| 2007 | 95 | #2,117 |
| 2006 | 115 | #1,798 |
| 2005 | 30 | #4,483 |
| 2004 | 31 | #4,383 |
| 2003 | 29 | #4,413 |
| 2002 | 31 | #4,067 |
| 2001 | 30 | #4,103 |
| 2000 | 26 | #4,522 |
| 1999 | 20 | #5,213 |
| 1998 | 21 | #4,951 |
| 1997 | 21 | #4,815 |
| 1996 | 19 | #5,060 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,074 |
| 1994 | 18 | #5,244 |
| 1993 | 16 | #5,667 |
| 1992 | 17 | #5,477 |
| 1991 | 10 | #7,980 |
| 1990 | 13 | #6,459 |
| 1989 | 16 | #5,280 |
| 1988 | 16 | #5,060 |
| 1987 | 18 | #4,471 |
| 1986 | 10 | #6,609 |
| 1985 | 13 | #5,346 |
| 1984 | 10 | #6,290 |
| 1983 | 11 | #5,822 |
| 1982 | 16 | #4,526 |
| 1981 | 9 | #6,802 |
| 1980 | 10 | #6,318 |
| 1979 | 8 | #7,311 |
| 1978 | 6 | #8,560 |
| 1977 | 8 | #6,890 |
| 1976 | 5 | #9,282 |
| 1975 | 10 | #5,514 |
| 1974 | 6 | #7,678 |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 5 | #8,290 |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 7 | #6,361 |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 6 | #5,808 |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 5 | #6,244 |
Names like Larkin
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Leo, Oscar, Reuben, Louie, Henry, Otto, Arthur, Leon, Felix, Archie, Jasper, Ollie
Other spellings of Larkin
More Irish names
Rowan, Rory, Maeve, Finn, Aiden, Ryan, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Cody, Erin, Ronan, Connor, Declan, Casey, Kennedy
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Larkin: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/larkin, updated 20 October 2026.