Charting some of the changes in Ireland’s economic and social history to mark 50 years of Ireland in the EU.
John and Mary ranked first in terms of popularity for boys and girls born in 1973. In total 1,529 girls born in 1973 were named Mary, while 2,431 boys were called John.
Catherine and Margaret ranked second and third in popularity for girls in 1973 while it was Michael and Patrick for boys.
As of 2022, Mary, Catherine, and Margaret declined in the popularity they enjoyed in the early 1970s, ranking 87th, 304th, and 174th, respectively. Emily, Grace, and Fiadh were the top three most popular girls names in 2022.
For the boys, John ranked 36th in 2022, while Michael and Patrick were 12th and 15th respectively. The most popular boys’ names in 2022 were Jack, Noah, and James.
It is interesting to note that some names that were popular in the 1970s such as Raymond, Gerald, and Cornelius, or Geraldine, Jacqueline, and Deirdre have now all fallen outside the top 100 rankings. However, names like Rose, Alice, Henry, and Arthur which were once high in the rankings and whose popularity declined in the 1980s and 1990s are currently enjoying a resurgence.
The diversity of names has also increased significantly over the years. In 1972 there were 2,609 unique names given to children, while in 2022 this had risen to 8,982.
| Table 4.1 Top-Ranking Names for Irish Babies 1964-2022 | ||||||||||||||
| Boys | ||||||||||||||
| Rank | 1964 | 1972 | 1982 | 1992 | 2002 | 2012 | 2022 | |||||||
| 1 | John | John | John | David | Jack | Jack | Jack | |||||||
| 2 | Patrick | Michael | David | Michael | Sean | James | Noah | |||||||
| 3 | Michael | Patrick | Michael | James | Adam | Daniel | James | |||||||
| Girls | ||||||||||||||
| Rank | 1964 | 1972 | 1982 | 1992 | 2002 | 2012 | 2022 | |||||||
| 1 | Mary | Mary | Mary | Sarah | Sarah | Emily | Emily | |||||||
| 2 | Catherine | Catherine | Sarah | Laura | Aoife | Sophie | Grace | |||||||
| 3 | Margaret | Margaret | Michelle | Emma | Ciara | Emma | Fiadh | |||||||
The popularity of any given name with three or more occurrences over the period 1964 to 2022 can be found on our Baby Names of Ireland Interactive Tool.
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