No shock with the boys’ names.
The Central Statistics Office has officially revealed the top Irish Baby Names for 2021, and there’s a few non-movers from last year.
Like the years gone by, Jack is yet again the most popular boys’ name, with it taking the number one spot every year since 2007, excluding 2016.
In 2021, there were 667 babies born named Jack, but a new name has made it to the top of the girls’ list.
Fiadh has claimed the top spot with 424 babies born with this name, with Grace following in second and Emily, Sophie and Éabha coming in after.
Commenting on the trends in Irish baby names, Gerard Doolan, Statistician, said: “Looking back 50 years ago to 1971, John, Michael, Patrick, David and James were the names most favoured by parents of newborn baby boys. There were 198 male newborns named John in 2021, compared with 2,654 in 1971.
“Interestingly, not one of the top five names for girls in 2021 appeared in the top 100 names a half century earlier. Mary, Catherine, Margaret, Fiona and Sinead were the most popular names for baby daughters in 1971, with 1,907 baby girls named Mary in that year. In 2021, there were 424 baby girls named Fiadh, 22.2% of the number of girls given the name Mary (1,907) in 1971. ”
There were 10 new entrants into the top 100 names for boys in 2021, Teddy, Daithí, Páidí, Jaxon, Brody, Ted, Hunter, Tadgh, Tiernan and Arlo.
There were three new names in the top 100 for girls, Indie, Ayla and Lottie while Croía jumped the most places rising from 95th place in 2020 to 52nd in 2021.
Some less common names for boys included Rome, Kobie, Thady, Saul and Eanna. Less popular girls’ names included Sky, Princess, Valerie, Ophelia and Noelle.
The most popular surnames were: Murphy, Kelly, Ryan, Walsh and Byrne.
