The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has unveiled the list of the most popular names for boys and girls in Ireland last year, with Sophie taking over from Grace at the top, and Grace slipping to third place for 2024.
Sophie was the most popular name for baby girls in Ireland in 2024, with Jack retaining the top spot for baby boys. Éabha was the second most popular name for girls, followed by Emily and Fiadh in fourth and fifth places respectively. For the boys, Jack remained immovable in its eighth consecutive year as the most popular boy's name in Ireland.
In fact, 2016 was the only year since 2007 that Jack wasn't the most popular name for boys in Ireland, when James nudged it out of the top spot. Noah was the second-most popular name for boys last year, followed by Rían, Cillian and James.
Other notable findings from the CSO include Caleb's dramatic rise up the popularity rankings for boys' names, from the 142nd most popular name in 2023 to the 91st most popular in 2024. Rowan and Iarlaith were also new additions to the top 100.
Hallie, Rhea, Caragh, and Aurora were the fastest-rising girls' names in popularity, while last year marked only the third time in 50 years since 1974 that Mary fell out of the top 100 list of most popular names in Ireland, with 46 babies given the name in 2024, reports the Irish Mirror.
In 2024, there were 9,582 unique names registered for new-borns, with Murphy unsurprisingly being the most common surname for babies born that year. It was closely followed by Kelly, Byrne, O'Brien, and Walsh.
Seán O'Connor, a Statistician in the Vital Statistics Section of the CSO, commented on the trends in Irish baby names: "Jack has retained the top spot as the most popular baby boys' name in 2024. This is a position it has held for every year since 2007, with the exception of 2016, when James was the most popular choice of name. Jack and James have been in the top five boys' names since 1998. Noah and Rían are the other two boys' names which makeup the top three in 2024.
"Sophie occupied the number one position as most popular girls' name in Ireland for the first time since 2010. Éabha, Grace, Emily, and Fiadh were the other four girls' names which made up the top five in 2024.
"While Jack has been the most popular name for baby boys in Ireland for eight years in a row, there is more variety when it comes to the top spot for girls. In 2024 Sophie was the most popular name for girls, while in 2023 it was Grace and in 2022 it was Emily. Grace, Emily, and Sophie have been permanent fixtures in the top five names for baby girls every year since 2016, with Éabha entering the top five for the first time in 2021 and ranking in second place in 2024.
"Rowan, Caleb, and Iarlaith are the three new entrants into the top 100 most popular boys' names for 2024. Caleb rose fastest up the rankings, going from 142nd place in 2023 to 91st in 2024.
"Looking at new entrants for girls, four new entrants appeared, Hallie, Rhea, Caragh, and Aurora, with Rhea being the fastest rising girls' name in 2024 moving up 37 places to 93rd in the table."
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