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Fionnuala

#13,766 in 2025Girls' name

White shoulder

Fionnuala has been given to 164 babies in the U.S. since 1985. In 2025 it ranked #13,766 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2010, with 12 recorded.

Babies named Fionnuala, 2025

1 in 553,000

Fionnuala over time, 1880–2025

Girls
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Fionnuala: meaning, origin, and history

White shoulder

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Fionnuala means

Fionnuala means “white shoulder”.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Fionnuala is used in Irish and Irish Mythology.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 164 girls were recorded with the name Fionnuala between 1985 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 12 in 2010; its best national rank was #9,253 in 2003.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #14,015 in 2020 to #13,766 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #13,466 in 2015 to #13,766 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Fionnuala?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 553,000
6 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 268,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#13,766
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
382,984 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Fionnuala sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 382,984 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Fionnuala. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Fionnualas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Fionnuala was born before 2013 — so the typical Fionnuala is around 12 today.

Median birth year
2013
About 12 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
45.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
90.9%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
164
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 45.1% of all recorded uses (74).

Is Fionnuala rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+2,314
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+249
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−300
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.86×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
50.0%
Peak was 2010 (12)
Years since peak
15
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
33.8% average annual change
Best rank ever
#9,253
2003

Fionnuala around the world

Where Fionnuala ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,605
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1974–2023
    #749
    in 2023
  • Northern Ireland
    1997–2018
    #434
    in 2018
  • Ireland
    1964–2019
    #716
    in 2019
  • South Australia
    1961–1995
    #712
    in 1995

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Fionnuala by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#13,766
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 249
Best rank ever
#9,253
2003
Peak year
2010
12 that year
First recorded
1985
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
164
Count in 2025
6

Names similar to Fionnuala

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

FiorelaFiorellaPascualaFiorenzaFioraFionnaShaqualaLeinaalaJaqualaMichealaShakalaMikhalaMarkalaNialaTangalaMickalaTammalaDialaMikealaTashalaMacalaMekalaMagdalaCamala

Sibling names for Fionnuala

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Fionnuala

Top names of 2010, Fionnuala's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2003Girls' names starting with F