| Eira | Rhiannon | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Snow | great queen |
| Origin | Welsh | welsh |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | AY-rah | ree-AN-un |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1979 | 1974 |
| Peak year | 2025 (116) | 1999 (651) |
| In 2025 | 116 | 210 |
| Trend | Near its peak | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Eira | Rhiannon |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 474 | 1,245 |
| 2010s | 321 | 1,444 |
| 2000s | 51 | 4,075 |
| 1990s | 11 | 3,833 |
| 1980s | 16 | 3,276 |
| 1970s | 5 | 1,666 |
Eira is the Welsh word for “snow.”
Thought to derive from the reconstructed Celtic 'Rigantona', meaning 'great queen' (from the root 'rigani', queen). A figure of sovereignty in the Welsh Mabinogi. The reconstruction is scholarly, so the 'great queen' sense is widely accepted but not attested directly.
Rhiannon is more popular than Eira today: about 210 US babies were given the name Rhiannon in 2025, compared with 116 named Eira.
Eira means Snow (Welsh origin), while Rhiannon means great queen (welsh origin).
In US records, Eira first appears in 1979 and Rhiannon in 1974, so Rhiannon has the longer recorded history.