Ireland recently released baby name data for 2010. Here are the top ten boy names and top ten girl names of last year (plus parenthetical comparisons to 2009 rankings).
| Boy Names | Girl Names |
|---|---|
| 1. Jack (same) 2. Sean (same) 3. Daniel (same) 4. James (up from 5th) 5. Conor (down from 4th) 6. Ryan (same) 7. Adam (same) 8. Alex (up from 9th) 9. Luke (up from 10th) 10. Dylan (up from 11th) | 1. Sophie (same) 2. Emily (up from 6th) 3. Emma (same) 4. Sarah (same) 5. Lucy (up from 8th) 6. Ava (down from 2nd) 7. Grace (down from 5th) 8. Chloe (up from 10th) 9. Katie (down from 7th) 10. Aoife (down from 9th) |
The one name that fell out of the boys’ top ten is Michael (now 12th).
The top 100 lists have seven new entries overall — four boy names (Tyler, Sebastian, Daithí, Alfie) and three girl names (Lilly, Sofia, Lena).
The boy names that saw the greatest popularity increases from 2009 to 2010 in terms of rank were Tyler, Sebastian, Jacob, Daithí* and Shay, and in terms of number were Noah, Ethan, Charlie, Harry and Jake.
The girl names that saw the greatest popularity increases from 2009 to 2010 in terms of rank were Alicia, Sofia, Lena, Lilly and Daisy, and in terms of number were Emily, Saoirse, Olivia, Sophia and Lucy.
*Daithí, pronounced DAH-hee, is a form of Dáithí, which is thought to mean “swift” in Irish Gaelic. The sudden interest in the name may have been sparked by the TV appearances of young Irish fiddler Daithí Ó Drónaí, who was on The All Ireland Talent Show in 2009 and Must Be The Music in 2010.
Sources: CSO, Jack, Sophie top baby names in 2010, Jack and Sophie, you’re top of the roll-call
Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)
