Aodhan
Of Irish origin, meaning "fire, fiery".
Name Census estimates that about 300 living Americans carry the first name Aodhan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aodhan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aodhan births was 2004 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aodhan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Aodhan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
300
~ 1 in 1,142,514 Americans
Peak year
2004
25 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,943
Tracked since 1990
Census
Aodhan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 273 people with the first name Aodhan, which placed it at #31,391 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#31,391
National first-name rank
People counted
273
273 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aodhan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aodhan is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (9.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Aodhan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Aodhan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.0% · 213
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 29
- Two or more races9.5% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 3
- Black or African American0.7% · 2
Popularity
Aodhan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aodhan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 130 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aodhan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aodhan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aodhan
The name Aodhan has its origins in the Irish language, tracing back to the early medieval period in Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic word "Áedán," which means "fire" or "little fire." This name was particularly popular among the ancient Celtic inhabitants of Ireland, Scotland, and parts of Britain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aodhan can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. It mentions an Irish king named Aodhan mac Gabrain, who ruled the kingdom of Dalriada in the late 6th century AD. Aodhan was a common name among the ruling class and nobility during this era.
In the 7th century, the name appears in the historical record of the Isle of Iona, where St. Aodhan (also known as St. Evan) was a renowned bishop and monastic leader. His life and teachings were documented in various ecclesiastical texts, further solidifying the name's association with early Christian history in the region.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Aodhan continued to be popular among Irish and Scottish families. One notable figure was Aodhan Ó Néill (c. 1380-1455), an Irish king and chieftain of the powerful Ó Néill dynasty. He played a significant role in the political and military conflicts of his time.
In the 16th century, Aodhan mac Muireadhaigh Ó Cobhthaigh (c. 1550-1629), an Irish poet and scholar, gained recognition for his contributions to Irish literature. His works, written in the Gaelic language, provide valuable insights into the cultural and literary traditions of that period.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Aodhan was Aodhan Ó Rathaille (c. 1670-1726), a renowned Irish-language poet and storyteller. His compositions, which often celebrated the natural beauty of Ireland and its people, have left a lasting impact on the country's literary heritage.
While the name Aodhan has deep roots in Irish and Scottish history, it has also been adopted and adapted in other cultures over time. However, its origins and cultural significance remain firmly tied to the Celtic traditions of the British Isles.
People
Aodhan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aodhan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aodhan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aodhan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 300 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aodhan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,142,514 US residents.
Is Aodhan a common name?
We classify Aodhan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 303 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aodhan most popular?
The single biggest year for Aodhan was 2004, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aodhan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aodhan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 273 people with the name Aodhan, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,391 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Aodhan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Aodhan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aodhan appears almost entirely male. Of the 276 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Aodhan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aodhan is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.6%) and Two or More Races (9.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Aodhan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aodhan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (213 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Aodhan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aodhan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aodhan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Aodhan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aodhan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Aodhan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Aodhan?
See how many Americans are named Aodhan on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.