| Sinead | Orla | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | God is gracious | golden princess |
| Origin | Irish | irish |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | shin-AYD | OR-lah |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1975 | 1892 |
| Peak year | 1990 (160) | 2024 (71) |
| In 2025 | 11 | 70 |
| Trend | Declining | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Sinead | Orla |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 60 | 357 |
| 2010s | 118 | 273 |
| 2000s | 295 | 179 |
| 1990s | 627 | 56 |
| 1980s | 182 | 0 |
| 1970s | 58 | 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 |
Sinéad is an Irish form of Jane/Jeanette, ultimately “God is gracious.”
Anglicised from Irish Orlaith/Órlaith, combining 'ór' (gold) with 'flaith' (princess, sovereign) — literally 'golden princess'. The 'ór' element is a genuine word for gold.
Orla is more popular than Sinead today: about 70 US babies were given the name Orla in 2025, compared with 11 named Sinead.
Sinead means God is gracious (Irish origin), while Orla means golden princess (irish origin).
In US records, Sinead first appears in 1975 and Orla in 1892, so Orla has the longer recorded history.