According to data released yesterday by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), the most popular baby names in the country in 2016 were Emily and James.
Here are Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:
Girl Names
- Emily, 490 baby girls
- Grace, 452 (up from 8th to 2nd)
- Ava, 388 (2-way tie)
- Lucy, 388 (2-way tie)
- Amelia, 369 (2-way tie)
- Sophie, 369 (2-way tie)
- Emma, 365 (down from 2nd to 7th)
- Mia, 357
- Hannah, 351 (new)
- Lily, 334 (new)
Boy Names
- James, 688 baby boys (new #1 name; replaced Jack)
- Jack, 684
- Daniel, 558 (2-way tie)
- Conor, 558 (2-way tie)
- Sean, 501
- Noah, 446
- Adam, 400
- Oisin, 398 (new)
- Michael, 394
- Luke, 375
Some quick facts about the girl names…
- Newbies to the top 10: Hannah, Lily
- Newbies to the top 100: Aria, Harper, Heidi, Matilda, Willow, Zoey
- Biggest increases within the top 100, by…
- Ranking: Willow/Matilda (tied), Harper, Heidi, Zoey, Daisy
- Raw number: Grace, Fiadh, Saoirse, Charlotte, Evie, Holly/Alice (tied)
- Top girl names in Ireland’s five biggest cities: Amelia (Dublin and Cork), Ava (Limerick), Fiadh (Galway), Mia (Waterford)
And some quick facts about the boy names…
- Newbie to the top 10: Oisin
- Newbie to the top 100: Muhammad
- Biggest increases within the top 100, by…
- Ranking: Muhammad, Louis, Lucas, Josh/Jason (tied), Ollie
- Raw number: Finn, Max, Jacob, Lucas, Oisin, Ollie, Rian
- Top boy names in Ireland’s five biggest cities: James (Dublin), Charlie (Cork), Conor (Limerick), Michael (Galway), Daniel (Waterford)
Finally, here are the 2015 rankings for Ireland, the 2016 rankings for Northern Ireland, and some Irish name pronunciations.
Sources: Irish Babies’ Names 2016, Press Statement Irish Babies’ Names 2016
Image: Adapted from Flag of Ireland (public domain)
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