Padraig
Masculine · “Latin patricius”
St Patrick's Confessio is one of the oldest documents written in Ireland and one of the few personal narratives to survive from the fifth century anywhere. It opens by apologizing for his Latin, which he says is poor because he was taken as a slave before he could be educated.
How old is the name Padraig?
Padraig first appears in US birth records in 1982 — 43 years ago. The typical Padraig alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 800 people named Padraig are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Padraig most popular?
Padraig peaked in 2009, reaching #2287 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 7,427 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From patricius to Padraig
The story of Padraig
Two short texts by Patrick survive, the Confessio and the Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, and they are the only documents from fifth-century Ireland written by a named individual. The Confessio is a defense of his mission against unnamed critics, and it tells his story: born in Roman Britain to a decurion family, seized by raiders at sixteen, six years herding animals in Ireland, escape, return home, and then the dream that sent him back. His Latin is admittedly rough and he says so more than once, which is unusual candor and also a rhetorical move. Almost everything else attached to him, the snakes, the shamrock, the date, comes from centuries later. The two texts are short, difficult, personal and entirely free of miracles.
Meaning
Latin patricius, a nobleman
Padraig is the Irish form of Patrick, from Latin Patricius, a member of the patrician class, from pater, a father. The name was regarded as too sacred for ordinary use in Ireland for centuries, which is why Gilla Padraig, servant of Patrick, was used instead. The American peak is 2009.
How the name formed
- patricius
- Patricius
- Padraig
Related forms: Padraig · Patrick · Padraig
Pronouncing Padraig
PAW-drig
Two syllables, stress on the first. Irish spells it with a fada on the a. The dr is said as in English; the final g is light.
Nicknames for Padraig
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
- 1982
- Most boys named
- 200957 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2287reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- −36.4%7 in 2025, from 11
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.
Padraig in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Padraig in Irish — same name
- Patrick in English — same name
- Padraig in Scottish Gaelic — same name
Padraigs among us
people named Padraig are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Padraig
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 Fredderick test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Padraig's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Fredderick climbed just as high around 1953, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Fredderick's path sketches the road Padraig is walking now.
Padraig 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
Padraig beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Padraig in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Patrick is available as the English equivalent.
- It is the genuine Irish form with a documented history.
- Two syllables with a firm first-syllable stress.
- American readers will not know how to say it.
- The fada is dropped by American recording systems.
- Paddy carries a pejorative history in Britain.
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What they receive
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Padraig
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Padraigs 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 Padraig are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Padraig in 2025?
- Padraig ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Padraig?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Padraig — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Padraig with classmates?
- Padraig will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Padraig
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Padraig? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Padraig and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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