Here are the most popular names for boys and girls in Ireland
While Jack Boys’ Was City The Cork Cork Areas, Most Sophie Popular In Most The Was Most County Was Girls Name For In Popular Both In In The Popular Name Ellie 2023,
Grace has taken the top spot as the most popular name chosen for girls born in Ireland in 2023, while Jack was the most common boy's name for the seventh year in a row.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has published the list of the most popular names chosen in Ireland last year, with 9,172 distinct names registered in 2023.
The most popular names for boys in 2023 were:
- 1. Jack
- 2. Noah
- 3. James
- 4. Rían
- 5. Oisin
The most popular names for girls in 2023 were:
- 1. Grace
- 2. Fiadh
- 3. Emily
- 4. Sophie
- 5. Lily
CSO statistician Seán O’Connor said: “Jack has retained the top spot as the most popular baby boys’ name in 2023, a position it has held for every year since 2007, except for 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 James are the other two boys’ names which make up the top three in 2023.
“Grace once again occupied the number one position as most popular girls’ name in Ireland for the first time since 2020. Fiadh, Emily, Sophie, and Lily were the other four girls’ names which made up the five in 2023.”
There were five new entries into the top 100 boys’ names last year, in the form of Caelan, Jude, Paddy, Éanna and Dáithí. For girls names, new entries in the top 100 included Lucia, Cadhla and Síofra, with Síofra the highest riser, going from 157th place in 2022 to 100th in 2023.
In Cork City in 2023, Ellie was the most popular name for girls while Sophie was the most popular in Cork county. In both areas, Jack was the most popular boys’ name.
It’s a far cry from 50 years ago when John and Mary topped the rankings for most popular baby names. In 2023, John ranked 31st in popularity, while Mary has dropped to 130th.
The top five boys’ names in 1973 were John, Michael, Patrick, David and Paul. The only name in the top 10 which was still in the 2023 top 10 was James.
The first girls’ name to appear in both top 100s was Niamh, who ranked 26th in 1973 and 73rd in 2023.
Names which are falling in popularity include Tadgh, Kayden and Tiernan for boys, and Mary, Jessica and Alannah for girls, which have all fallen out of the top 100.
Other names coming back into fashion include Oliver and Rose. In the case of Oliver, it has gone from being outside the top 200 in 1998 to 22nd in today’s figures. Rose, meanwhile, has come from 245th place in 1999 to 63rd in 2023.
Some of the less frequently used girls' names registered in 2023 and not included in the top 100 names were Bláithín, Lena, Tillie, Ceola, Líadan, Demi, Miroslava and Fíbí, the CSO said.
Meanwhile, some of the less popular boys' names registered in 2023 were Idris, Ultán, Marcos, Kobie, Denzel and Ibraheem.
The most common surname was Murphy, with Kelly, O’Brien, Ryan and Walsh rounding out the top five.