Kiernan

Did you know?

A few things about Kiernan you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Kiernan

Kiernan Shipka

American actress (born 1999)

Choose Kiernan and your child shares a first name with Kiernan Shipka, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kiernan, like who?” Kiernan Shipka's Wikipedia article is available in 45 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kiernan Shipka on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Amy Martin Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 50,251 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Kiernan, 34 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kiernan would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKiernan first shows up in US birth records in 1957, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 68 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 2000, when it reached #1,681.
• 🍂TrendKiernan has slipped 35 places over the last five years and now sits at #3,379. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• ⚖️Boy or girlKiernan is given to both boys and girls: 79% of the 43 babies named Kiernan in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn Irish, Kiernan means “little dark one”. Our records link it to Gaelic, Irish and Irish surname roots.

About the name Kiernan

Kiernan is a gender-neutral name of Gaelic, Irish and Irish surname origin meaning “little dark one”. It has 7 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-nan”. US birth records list Kiernan for boys from 1957 to 2025, in 51 of those 69 years. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked #1,681 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #3,379, with 34 babies. Of the 43 US babies named Kiernan in 2025, 21% were girls and 79% were boys.

Origin:Gaelic namesIrish namesIrish surname names