Home » Press Releases » Ireland’s most-loved baby names of the last decade revealed
by Ireland Before You Die
- Updated: February 22, 2024
Old classics and traditional monikers remain popular, but some of Ireland’s most-loved baby names have fallen out of favour.
- According to new research from Betway, Jack and James have been revealed as the long standing top choices for boys, while Emily and Grace topped the charts for girls
- Traditional Irish monikers, such as Darragh and Saoirse also proved their longevity
- However, once popular picks, such as Hugh and Poppy had clearly lost their shine
Choosing a name for your new baby can feel like a massive weight on your shoulders. Do you opt for a trendy choice that will make a bold statement? Go for a firm family favourite? Or perhaps select something classic and timeless?
Like with fashion, baby names can go in and out of style at the drop of a hat but there are certainly some that stand the test of time.
Betwayhas analysed the top 20 boys’ and girls’ names for Ireland over the last decade using data from the Central Statistics Office to determine which ones had remained strong picks.
When it comes to boys’ names, Jack and James came out on top.According to statistics, James was chosen as a name 5917 times in the last decade, whilst Jack was picked 6939. For girls, Emily (4797) and Grace (4006) were the most popular choices.
Irish names have long been a favourable choice due to their unique quality and rich history steeped in folklore.
And traditional monikers were prevalent on the list for both boys and girls, with Conor coming in fourth place and receiving a total count of 4675. Other vintage names in the list included Cillian (3089), Darragh (3045) and Fionn (3020) for boys and Aoife (2630), Fiadh (2577) and Saoirse (2460) for girls.
Despite many names remaining strong contenders over the years, there were many monikers that had clearly lost their appeal.
Betwayalso used the data to explore the names that had dropped out of the top 100 and discovered that for boys, Hugh, Stephen and Oran were threatening to fade into obscurity. For girls, once popular picks, such as Brooke and Poppy, had also fallen out of favour.
Top boys’ names in Ireland over the last decade
| Name | Total count |
| Jack | 6939 |
| James | 5917 |
| Daniel | 4846 |
| Conor | 4675 |
| Noah | 4581 |
| Adam | 3709 |
| Charlie | 3539 |
| Harry | 3527 |
| Michael | 3517 |
| Luke | 3493 |
| Liam | 3389 |
| Thomas | 3182 |
| Alex | 3136 |
| Cillian | 3089 |
| Darragh | 3045 |
| Fionn | 3020 |
| Patrick | 2992 |
| Sean | 2953 |
| Cian | 2768 |
| Ryan | 2759 |
Top girls’ names in Ireland over the last decade
| Name | Total count |
| Emily | 4797 |
| Grace | 4006 |
| Sophie | 3735 |
| Emma | 3509 |
| Amelia | 3401 |
| Ava | 3397 |
| Ella | 3253 |
| Lucy | 3224 |
| Mia | 3176 |
| Hannah | 3080 |
| Lily | 2961 |
| Chloe | 2799 |
| Anna | 2678 |
| Olivia | 2664 |
| Aoife | 2630 |
| Ellie | 2621 |
| Fiadh | 2577 |
| Saoirse | 2460 |
| Sophia | 2429 |
| Kate | 2416 |
Fallen boys’ names and the last time they appeared in the top 100
| Name | Last year seen |
| Hugh | 2013 |
| Stephen | 2013 |
| Oran | 2014 |
| Alan | 2014 |
| Niall | 2014 |
| Jakub | 2014 |
| Rhys | 2015 |
| Brian | 2015 |
| Daire | 2015 |
| Jason | 2016 |
| Killian | 2016 |
| Lorcan | 2016 |
| Cormac | 2017 |
| Jackson | 2017 |
| Oisin | 2017 |
| Daithi | 2017 |
| Tomas | 2017 |
| Ciaran | 2017 |
| Ruairi | 2017 |
| Peter | 2018 |
Fallen girls’ names and the last time they appeared in the top 100
| Name | Last year seen |
| Aoibhe | 2013 |
| Kayleigh | 2013 |
| Brooke | 2013 |
| Katelyn | 2013 |
| Aimee | 2013 |
| Zuzanna | 2013 |
| Poppy | 2014 |
| Ruth | 2014 |
| Natalia | 2014 |
| Lexi | 2015 |
| Nicole | 2015 |
| Maja | 2015 |
| Annabelle | 2015 |
| Eimear | 2015 |
| Caitlin | 2015 |
| Sara | 2016 |
| Zoey | 2016 |
| Matilda | 2016 |
| Orla | 2016 |
| Madison | 2017 |
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