A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
Checking your saved choices…
Share this name or preview its baby card in Discover.
Possibly land or sod, through a proposed Old Irish fót connection.
Fodhla is explicitly listed among the modern spellings in the Fódla mythological-name account. That account proposes a connection to Old Irish fót. The scholarly eDIL entry confirms the word’s sod/earth and land senses, but does not itself prove the name derivation. This remains a proposed root, distinct from the established literary association with Ireland. No pronunciation is inferred.
Documented in an Irish legendary naming tradition
Marshall’s historical folklore collection explicitly uses the spelling Fodhla for a legendary figure associated with Ireland. This establishes a documented cultural name association, not the naming intent of every modern family, a proven historical person, or a settled linguistic derivation.
Not yet published for this spelling.
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England & Wales | 2024 | Girls | 3 | 5891 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Northern Ireland | 2025 | Girls | 20 | 106 | Two rank discrepancies and alternate-view differences retained. Automated trend labels withheld. Rank basis: source published. |
| Ireland | 2016 | Girls | 7 | 515 | Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Checked against cited source
Fodhla is explicitly listed among the modern spellings in the Fódla mythological-name account. That account proposes a connection to Old Irish fót. The scholarly eDIL entry confirms the word’s sod/earth and land senses, but does not itself prove the name derivation. This remains a proposed root, distinct from the established literary association with Ireland. No pronunciation is inferred. Credit: Wikipedia contributors, Fódla article at the cited revision; eDIL, electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, entry 1 fót, Royal Irish Academy. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=F%C3%B3dla&oldid=1374356837; https://dil.ie/24133. License: Wikipedia-derived summary CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); eDIL source rights retained (https://dil.ie/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names condensed the proposed etymology and checked the root gloss separately, preserving its uncertainty. No dictionary passages, images or audio reproduced.
Credit: Wikipedia contributors. Adapted and condensed by Rare Baby Names.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0; other source rights retained
Checked against cited source
The 1924 retelling places Fodhla beside Banbha and Eire in the Milesian legend and associates her name with Ireland. This is an attributed folklore account; the narrative is not treated as verified historical events or as a literal translation of the name. Credit: John Johnson Marshall, Popular Rhymes and Sayings of Ireland (1924), presented by Library Ireland. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; hosting-site rights retained. No source passage, image or audio reproduced.
Original factual summary; source rights retained
Checked against cited source
Marshall’s historical folklore collection explicitly uses the spelling Fodhla for a legendary figure associated with Ireland. This establishes a documented cultural name association, not the naming intent of every modern family, a proven historical person, or a settled linguistic derivation. Credit: John Johnson Marshall, Popular Rhymes and Sayings of Ireland (1924), presented by Library Ireland. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; hosting-site rights retained. No source passage, image or audio reproduced.
Original factual summary; source rights retained
View statistics source (link unavailable)
Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.
License: CC BY 4.0
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.
