Boy · Irish · International · Christian
Declan
DeclanSay it DEK-lun
Declan meaning
Declan is an international and Christian boy's name of Irish origin.
Meaning today
Full of goodness, man of prayer
In the dictionaries
We haven't confirmed a dictionary meaning for the name itself. The meaning above is how families commonly use it.
Declan is the English form of the Irish name Deaglán, in Old Irish Declán. It is best known as the name of Saint Declan of Ardmore, an early missionary bishop of the Déise in what is now County Waterford; the Catholic Encyclopedia notes that his Life places his preaching in the early fifth century, even before Saint Patrick, though the dates are confused. Name lists give "full of goodness", reading the modern Irish words deagh, "good", and lán, "full", or "man of prayer", but we could not confirm either in an Irish dictionary, so we leave the meaning open. The name is easy to say for Indian families.
References: Catholic Encyclopedia (1912), Waterford and Lismore · Wikipedia, Declan (given name)
Famous namesakes
- Saint Declan of Ardmore, early Irish missionary bishop
Popularity abroad
- #139 United States, boys 2025 (down 7 from 132 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #372 England and Wales, boys 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Declan · Deaglán · Deklan