| Aoife | Orla | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Radiant, beautiful | golden princess |
| Origin | Irish | irish |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | EE-fuh | OR-lah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1985 | 1892 |
| Peak year | 2018 (117) | 2024 (71) |
| In 2025 | 88 | 70 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Aoife | Orla |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 592 | 357 |
| 2010s | 862 | 273 |
| 2000s | 503 | 179 |
| 1990s | 201 | 56 |
| 1980s | 23 | 0 |
| 1960s | 0 | 16 |
| 1950s | 0 | 20 |
| 1940s | 0 | 26 |
| 1930s | 0 | 59 |
| 1920s | 0 | 120 |
| 1910s | 0 | 71 |
| 1900s | 0 | 5 |
| 1890s | 0 | 17 |
Aoife comes from the Irish for “radiant” or “beautiful,” and is borne by a great warrior of Irish legend.
Anglicised from Irish Orlaith/Órlaith, combining 'ór' (gold) with 'flaith' (princess, sovereign) — literally 'golden princess'. The 'ór' element is a genuine word for gold.
Aoife is more popular than Orla today: about 88 US babies were given the name Aoife in 2025, compared with 70 named Orla.
Aoife means Radiant, beautiful (Irish origin), while Orla means golden princess (irish origin).
In US records, Aoife first appears in 1985 and Orla in 1892, so Orla has the longer recorded history.