Ciarán ( Irish spelling) or Ciaran (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

spelling) is a traditionally male

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

of Irish origin. It means "little dark one" or "little dark-haired one", produced by appending a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

suffix to ''ciar'' ("black", "dark"). It is the masculine version of the name

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

. The name became common in reference to Ciar, son of

Fergus mac Róich Fergus mac Róich/Róigh (literally "Virility, manliness, son of great stallion") is an Irish hero and a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulaid, Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conc ...

, who gave his name to the Ciarraige and

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, and two early Irish saints both counted among the

Twelve Apostles of Ireland The Twelve Apostles of Ireland (also known as Twelve Apostles of Erin, ) were twelve early Irish monastic saints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian (d. 549) at his famous monastic school Clonard Abbey at Cluain-Eraird (Erard's ...

: Ciarán the Elder and Ciarán the Younger. It is anglicised in various ways: Ciaran, Kieran, Keiran, Keiron, Keiren, Keerun, Kiran, etc. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Kierans were the chiefly family of the Cíarraige tribe who in turn were from the

Dumnonii The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a Britons (historical), British List of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes, tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Cornwall and Devon (and some areas of present-day Dorset and Somerset) in the further pa ...

Laigin The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinste ...

who were the third wave of

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

to settle in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

during the first century BC. The name can also be found in the Irish surname of O'Keiran, meaning "descendant of Ciarán".

Notable people

* Ciarán Bairéad (1905–1976), Irish folklorist and scholar * Ciarán Bourke (1935–1988), Irish musician * Ciarán Brennan (born 1956), Irish musician * Ciarán Byrne (born 1994), Irish Australian rules footballer * Ciarán Cannon (born 1965), Irish politician * Ciarán Carey (born 1970), Irish hurling player *

Ciaran Carson Ciaran Gerard Carson ( Irish: ''Ciarán Gearóid Mac Carráin''; 9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019) was a Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist. Early life and education Ciaran Carson was born on 9 October 1948 in Belfast Belfast ...

(1948–2019), Northern Irish poet and playwright *

Ciaran Clark Ciaran Clark (born 26 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays for Baller League club Trebol FC. In eleven-a-side football, he operates as a centre-back, central midfielder or left-back. Clark is a product of the Aston Villa Aca ...

(born 1989), Irish footballer *

Ciaran Clear Ciaran Clear (1920 – 2000) was an Irish painter. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded ...

John Patrick (1920–2000), Irish painter *

Ciarán Cuffe Ciarán Cuffe (born 3 April 1963) is an Irish politician who has been co-chair of the European Green Party (EGP) since December 2024. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency from July 2019 ...

(born 1963), Irish politician * Ciaran Donnelly (footballer) (born 1984), English footballer * Ciarán Farrell (born 1969), Irish composer * Ciaran Fitzgerald (born 1952), Irish rugby player and coach * Ciarán Griffiths (born 1983), English actor * Ciaran Gultnieks (born 1970), English computer/video game programmer *

Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds ( ; born 9 February 1953) is a British Northern Irish actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Love ...

(born 1953), Irish actor * Ciarán Hope,

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

and Irish composer of

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l, choral, and film music * Ciaran Jenkins (born 1984), Welsh journalist * Ciaran Jeremiah, British keyboardist * Ciarán Joyce (born 2002), Irish hurler * Ciarán Kilkenny (born 1993), Irish Gaelic footballer * Ciarán Kelly (footballer, born 1980) * Ciaran Kelly (footballer, born 1998) * Ciarán Kenny (born 1984), Irish hurler * Ciarán Lenehan (born 1990), Irish Gaelic footballer *

Ciarán Lynch Ciarán Lynch (born 13 June 1964) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork South-Central (Dáil constituency), Cork South-Central constituency from 2007 to 2016. He was e ...

(born 1964), Irish politician * Ciarán Lyng (born 1985), Irish Gaelic footballer * Ciarán MacGillivray (born 1987), member of Cape Breton musical group "The Cottars" * Ciarán Mac Mathúna (1925–2009), Irish broadcaster and music expert * Ciaran Madden (born 1942), English actress * Ciarán Martyn (born 1980), Irish footballer * Ciarán McDonald (born 1975), Irish Gaelic footballer * Ciarán McKeown (1943–2019), Northern Irish peace activist * Ciarán McMenamin (born 1975), Northern Irish actor * Ciarán Murphy (born 1940), Irish politician * Ciaran O'Brien (born 1987), American soccer player * Ciarán O Gealbháin, Irish singer * Ciarán O'Keeffe (born 1971), English parapsychologist * Ciaran O'Leary (born 1973), Irish professional poker player * Ciarán Power (born 1976), Irish cyclist * Ciarán Sheehan (dual player) (born 1990), Irish Australian rules footballer * Ciarán Sheehan (actor), Irish actor * Ciarán Walsh, Irish artist * Ciarán Whelan (born 1976), Irish Gaelic footballer

Saints

* Saint Ciarán Saighir or Ciarán the Elder * Saint

Ciarán of Clonmacnoise Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c. 516 – c. 549), supposedly born Ciarán mac an tSaeir ("son of the carpenter"), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and the first abbot of Clonmacnoise. He is sometimes called Ciarán the Youn ...

or Ciarán the Younger * Saint Ciarán of Dissert-Kieran, celebrated 14 June * Saint Ciarán of Clonsost, commemorated 30 April * Saint Ciarán mac Colga, celebrated 19 May * Saint Ciarán Mac Eochaidh of Tubrid, a protogé of Saint Declan

People with the given name Ciaron

* Ciaron Brown (born 1998), English footballer * Ciaron Harkin (born 1996), Irish footballer * Ciaron Maher (born 1981), Australian horse trainer * Ciaron O'Reilly (born 1960), Australian activist * Ciaron Pilbeam, British Formula One engineer

People with the given name Keiren

* Keiren Westwood (born 1984), English-Irish footballer

People with the given name Kieran

* Kieran Brennan (born 1957), Irish hurler * Kieran Charnock (born 1984), English footballer * Kieran Conry (born 1951), Bishop of Arundel and Brighton *

Kieran Culkin Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. Known for portraying distasteful yet sympathetic characters across stage and screen, List of awards and nominations received by Kieran Culkin, his accolades include an Academy A ...

(born 1982), American actor * Kieran Doherty (1955–1981), Provisional Irish Republican Army hunger striker * Kieran Doherty, Northern Irish writer, TV format creator and Executive Producer * Kieran Donaghy (born 1983), Irish Gaelic footballer * Kieran Donnelly, Irish Gaelic footballer * Kieran Dover (born 1996), Australian soccer player * Kieran Egan (1942–2022), Irish-Anglo-Canadian educationist * Kieran Foran (born 1990), New Zealand rugby league player *

Kieran Gibbs Kieran James Ricardo Gibbs (born 26 September 1989) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back. Gibbs began his senior career with Arsenal F.C., Arsena ...

(born 1989), English footballer * Kieran Phelan (1949–2010), Irish Politician * Kieran Goss (born 1962), Irish musician * Kieran Hanrahan (born 1957), Irish musician and broadcaster *

Kieran Hebden Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

(born 1977), English musician * Kieran Kane (born 1949), American country singer * Kieran Lalor (born 1976), American politician * Kieran Lyons (born 1989), Fiji's top female chess player * Kieran Mahon, British musician * Kieran McAnespie (born 1979), Scottish footballer * Kieran McFeely, Irish musician *

Kieran McGeeney Kieran McGeeney (born 18 October 1971) is an Irish people, Irish Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and former player, who currently manages his native county team, Armagh county football team, Armagh, having previously managed the ...

(born 1971), Irish Gaelic footballer and coach * Kieran McKeever (born 1968), Irish dual player * Kieran Mulroney (born 1965), American actor and screenwriter * Kieran Noema-Barnett (born 1987), New Zealand cricketer *

Kieran Nugent Kieran Nugent (1958 – 4 May 2000) was an Irish volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and best known for being the first IRA 'blanket man' in the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland. When sentenced to three years for hijacking a b ...

(1958–2000), Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) member * Kieran O'Brien (born 1973), English actor * Kieran O'Connor (1979–2020), Irish Gaelic footballer * Kieran O'Donnell (born 1963), Irish politician * Kieran Phelan (1949–2010), Irish politician * Sir

Kieran Prendergast Sir Walter Kieran Prendergast (born 2 July 1942) is a British retired diplomat who was Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the United Nations. Prendergast was born in Campbeltown, Scotland, and received his education at St Patric ...

(born 1942), English diplomat and former United Nations officer *

Kieran Prendiville Kieran Prendiville (born 25 December 1947) is an English-Irish television writer, producer, and presenter. Early life Prendiville was born on 25 December 1947 in Rochdale, Lancashire, the son of an Irish father from Killorglin, County Kerry, ...

(born 1947), English television writer, producer, and presenter *

Kieran Read Kieran James Read (born 26 October 1985) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played as a number 8 and is a former captain of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Read played for New Zealand from 2008 to 2019. He is one of ...

(born 1985), New Zealand rugby union player * Kieran Richardson (born 1984), English footballer * Kieran Scott (born 1974), female American author * Kieran Smith (born 2000), American swimmer and Olympic bronze medalist * Kieran Suckling (born 1964), Conservationist * Kieran Tierney (born 1997), Scottish footballer * Kieran Trippier (born 1990), English footballer * Kieran West (born 1977), Olympic gold medal-winning rower * Kieran White (died 1995), English singer

People with the given name Kieren

Kieren Fallon Kieren Francis Fallon (born 22 February 1965 in Crusheen, County Clare, Ireland) is a retired Irish professional flat racing jockey and was British flat racing Champion Jockey, British Champion Jockey six times. Care ...

(born 1965), six-time British Champion Jockey * Kieren Jack (born 1987), Australian rules footballer * Kieren Perkins (born 1973), Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist * Kieren Webster (born 1986), Scottish musician

People with the given name Kieron

* Kieron Dawson (born 1975), Irish rugby union player *

Kieron Dwyer Kieron Dwyer (born March 6, 1967) is an American comics artist. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics as well as for his creator-owned projects. Biography During his career, Dwyer has worked on such comic book titles as ...

(born 1967), American comic book artist * Kieron Dyer (born 1978), English footballer *

Kieron Gillen Kieron Michael Gillen (; born 30 September 1975) is a British comic book writer and former video game and music journalist. In comics, Gillen is known for his creator-owned series such as '' Once & Future'' (2019–2022), '' Die'' (2018–202 ...

(born 1975), English computer games and music journalist, as well as a comic book author * Kieron Moore (1924–2007), Irish actor * Kieron Pollard (born 1987), West Indies cricketer *

Kieron Richardson Kieron Mark Richardson (born 12 January 1986) is an English actor and television presenter. He plays the role of Ste Hay in ''Hollyoaks'', having previously appeared in ''Heartbeat (British TV series), Heartbeat'' as Ricky Smith. He won the Bri ...

(born 1986), English actor

People with the given name Kyran

* Kyran Bracken (born 1971), Irish rugby union player * Kyran O'Donnell (born 1958), Australian politician

Fictional characters

* Ciaran McCarthy, a character from the British soap opera, ''Coronation Street'' * King Ciaran of Venallis, one of the main characters in the ''Song of Souls'' trilogy by Christen Stovall * Lord's Blade Ciaran, from the video game ''

Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series began with the release of ''Dark Souls (video game), Dark Souls'' (2011) and has ...

'' * Kieran, from '' The Dark Artifices'' by Cassandra Clare, a Wild Hunter and Mark Blackthorn's boyfriend * Kieran is the son of Lord Donnán, who appears in the seventh episode of psychological horror adventure game, '' The Last Door'' * Lena Kieran Luthor, a character from the CW series ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

,'' played by '' Katie McGrath '' * Kieran Northrup, the main character of the novel ''Don't Call Me Ishmael'' *Kieran, a playable character in “Fire Emblem-Path of Radiance” and “Fire Emblem-Radiant Dawn” *Ciaran, a mysterious character in "

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

" by Netflix * Kieran Duffy, fictional character from

Red Dead Redemption 2 ''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in a fictiona ...

* Ciaran, Sarah McCool's love interest in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

sitcom, '' Derry Girls'' * Kieran, a supporting character from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero

Other cultures

* Cioran is a Romanian surname. A notable individual with the name was nihilist philosopher Emil Cioran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciaran English masculine given names Irish-language masculine given names Scottish masculine given names Given names derived from colors Masculine given names