Conall
Masculine · “strong as a wolf”
Conall is one of the oldest names in Ireland and one of the most-used in the sagas: kings, saints and heroes carry it, among them the warrior who avenges Cuchulainn. Its two elements are a hound or wolf and a word about strength, which is about as direct as early Irish naming gets.
How old is the name Conall?
Conall first appears in US birth records in 1983 — 42 years ago. The typical Conall is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 800 people named Conall are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Conall most popular?
Conall peaked in 2016, reaching #2885 nationally. Today it ranks #5045, 2,160 places below that high. See the whole 2016 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Conall to Conall
The story of Conall
The hound was the animal of the Irish warrior class, and names built on cu run all through the early record: Conall, Conchobar, Cuchulainn, Conan. Conall Cernach is one of the central figures of the Ulster cycle, and several early kings and a saint of Iona carried the name too. It gave the Donegal territory Tir Chonaill, the land of Conall, its name. It has come back into use in Ireland in the last few decades and appears in American records with Irish families.
Meaningscholars disagree
strong as a wolf; wolf-strong
Old Irish cu, con, a hound or wolf, joined to a second element read as val, strong or ruling. That is the standard reading. Some scholars take the whole name as an old compound whose second half cannot be recovered, and the hound element is the secure part.
How the name formed
- Conall
- Conall Cernach
Related forms: Conall · Conall · Connell
Pronouncing Conall
KON-ul
Two syllables, stress in front. Irish says it the same way, with a slightly darker second l.
Nicknames for Conall
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1983
- Most boys named
- 201641 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2885reached in 2016
- Change vs 2024
- −40.6%19 in 2025, from 32
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Conall in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Conall in Irish — same name
- Conall in Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Connell in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: North Carolina, California, Texas.
Conalls among us
people named Conall are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 89,899 born in 2025 was named Conall
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Nolin test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Conall's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Nolin climbed just as high around 1918, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Nolin's path sketches the road Conall is walking now.
Conall sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Conall beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Conall in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is one of the oldest documented Irish names still in use.
- The meaning is direct and can be stated in three words.
- It is short and phonetic in English, unlike many Irish names.
- Conall, Connell and Conal are all in use, so the spelling will be asked for.
- Conor and Conall are close in English ears and get substituted.
- The short form Con is an English word with unhelpful associations.
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What they receive
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Conall
Masculine · #5045 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Conalls are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Conall are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Conall in 2025?
- Conall ranks #5045 among US boy names in 2025, with 19 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Conall?
- About 1 in every 89,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Conall — 19 in all.
- Will my child share the name Conall with classmates?
- Conall will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Conall
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Silver#5045 · Daymon#5045 · Thierry#5045 · Mehmet#5045 · Tyrel#5045 · Teague#5045 · Zeyad#5045 · Gardner#5045
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Conall? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Conall and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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