Five most popular babies’ names
| Name | Count | Name | Count |
| Sean | 928 | Emma | 787 |
| Jack | 835 | Katie | 574 |
| Conor | 736 | Sarah | 561 |
| Adam | 688 | Amy | 546 |
| James | 688 | Aoife | 534 |
Sean and Emma most popular again
Sean and Emma were the most popular babies' name registered last year, the second year in a row that they have been top. There were 928 boys named Sean in 2004, 93 more than the second most popular name, Jack. There were 787 girls named Emma, 213 more than the second most popular name, Katie. See Tables 1 and 2.
Exactly the same boys' names have been in the top five since 1999, with only their order changing from year to year. There has been more change in girls' names. This year, Amy replaced Ciara in the top five, and only Aoife and Sarah have retained their top five positions every year since 1999. See Table 1.
There were seven first time entries to the top 100 for boys: Charles, Christian, Hugh, Noah, Odhran, Rian and Tomas. Also, Lorcan and Owen returned to the top 100 after a year's absence. The highest new entry was Noah, which rose from 213th place in 1999 and 132nd last year to reach 79th place. The names rising the most places were Odhran (up 56 places to 100) and Noah (up 53 places to 79). See Table 6.
There were four first time entries to the top 100 for girls: Alex, Amelia, Kayla and Orlaith. Also, Ailbhe, Isabel, and Sara returned to the top 100 after a year's absence. The highest new entry was Isabel, which climbed from 115th place last year to reach 67th place. The names rising the most places were Amelia (up 64 places to 99) and Alex (up 58 places to 93). See Table 6.
In general, the tables show that girls are given a wider variety of names than boys. Over one in three girls (37.5%) were given a name not in the top 100, compared with 27.9% of boys.
The most popular boys' names by region were Sean (Dublin and Mid-East), Jack (Mid-West, South-East and South-West), Conor (Border, Midland) and Michael (West). Emma was the most popular girls' name in every region except for the Border region, where Niamh was most popular. See Table 5.
These results are based on an analysis of the first names recorded on birth returns for registration and vital statistics. Over 97% of birth notifications in 2004 included baby's first name when the statistical return was sent to the CSO.
Most popular babies' names registered in each regional authority
|
Year 2004 |
Regional Authority | Boys Name | % | Count | % |
| Border | Conor | 2.42 | Niamh | 2.36 | |
| Midland | Conor | 3.37 | Emma | 3.17 | |
| West | Michael | 2.61 | Emma | 2.96 | |
| Dublin | Sean | 3.46 | Emma | 2.44 | |
| Mid-East | Sean | 3.31 | Emma | 2.67 | |
| Mid-West | Jack | 3.39 | Emma | 3.43 | |
| South-East | Jack | 3.51 | Emma | 2.92 | |
| South-West | Jack | 3.01 | Emma | 2.70 | |
| Ireland | Sean | 2.99 | Emma | 2.71 |
More detailed tables, including the top 100 names for boys and girls, are available on the CSO website (www.cso.ie).
For more information contact Joseph Keating (LoCall 1890 313 414 Ext 5121) or Mary Condon (Ext 5471).
27 July 2005
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