A study by the Central Statistics Office has revealed that the most popular baby names in Ireland have not changed too much in the first half of the decade.
A similar study by the UK’s Office for National Statistics also reveals that Irish parents have similar tastes to those across the Irish Sea in England and Wales.
In Ireland the name Emily has been the most popular choice of name for new born girls from 2011-2014. The only year this decade that the name Emily missed out on the top spot was in 2010 when it came second to Sophie.
Sophie and Emma have taken the other two places in the top three every year this decade. Grace, Ava and Lucy are the other three names that have remained in the top 10 in every year throughout the decade.
Ella, Amelia, Mia and Aoife are other popular girl’s names that have regularly reached the top 10.
The name Jack has been even more dominant in the boys’ category, having been the most popular name for new born sons since 2007.
James has been the second most popular boy’s name every year since 2011, while Connor has been in third place for the last three years.
The boy’s names that have remained permanently in the top 10 throughout the decade are Jack, James, Connor, Daniel, Sean and Adam.
Other popular boy’s names that often reach the top 10 include Luke, Noah, Harry and Charlie.
The UK study showed that parents in England and Wales have four of the top 10 names in common with their Irish counterparts in both the girl’s and boy’s name categories.
The names Amelia, Emily, Ava and Sophie are also popular with English and Welsh parents for their new born daughters while they are also likely to choose Jack, Harry, Charlie and James for boys.
The results show that Irish parents have been making a move away from the more traditional names. None of the top 10 girl’s names from last year featured in the 1964 list, while James is the only boy’s name to remain in the top five.
Fifty years ago the most popular names for boys and girls in Ireland were John and Mary.
