Given name
Ciarán
“black”
Ciarán is a masculine given name from Old Irish, meaning “black.” It is used in Irish.
Meaning & origin
How it developed
From Old Irish Cíarán, built from Irish ciar (“black”) + -án.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Ciarán’s family of names
Ciarán has a feminine form in Ciara. In Irish usage, Ciarán continues an earlier form in Cíarán.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ciarán
- Ciarán HindsNorthern Irish actorborn 1953
- Ciarán of ClonmacnoiseIrish bishop516–546
- Ciarán of SaigirIrish saint375–530
- Ciarán BourkeIrish singer (1935–1988)
- Ciarán Ó LionáirdIrish runner (1988–2026)
- Ciarán McMenaminNorthern Irish actorborn 1975
- Ciarán CuffeIrish politicianborn 1963
- Ciarán PowerIrish cyclistborn 1976
- Ciarán MartynIrish footballerborn 1980
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ciarán, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Solivan
Solivan is a surname from Irish.
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Mýrkjartan
“mariner”
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Feagan
Feagan is a surname from Irish.
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Cearbhall
“keen, cunning”
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Kjaran
“black”
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Kvaran
“sandal”
—
Scallan
“descendant of Sceallán”
—
Cionaodh
Cionaodh is a masculine given name from Old Irish. It is used in Irish.
>99% boys