Jack has remained the country’s most popular boys’ name for the sixth consecutive year, new data from the CSO released today (Friday) shows.
Meanwhile, Emily has replaced Fiadh by becoming the most popular girls’ name last year.
Jack, Noah, James, Rían and Charlie were among the five most popular boys’ names, while Emily, Grace, Fiadh, Sophie and Lily topped the list of the most popular girls’ names.
Speaking following the publication of Irish Babies’ Names 2022, Sean O’Connor, Statistician with the Vital Statistics section of the CSO, said:
“Jack has retained the top spot as the most popular baby boys’ name in 2022, 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 2022.”
“Emily, once again, occupied the number one position as the most popular girls’ name in Ireland for the first time since 2019. Grace, Fiadh, Sophie, and Lily were the other four girls’ names which made up the five in 2022”
“In 2021, Fiadh claimed the top spot for baby girls for the first time, followed by Grace, Emily, Sophie, and Éabha.”
“Grace, Emily, and Sophie have been permanent fixtures in the top five names for baby girls for every year since 2016.”
“Blake and Cody are the two new entrants into the top 100 boys’ names for 2022. Looking at new entrants for girls, four new entrants appeared, which were Hailey, Phoebe, Ayda, and Éala.”
Popular boys’ names
The body has provided a breakdown of the most popular boys’ names by county in 2022:
- Mayo – Jack;
- Sligo – Noah;
- Galway County – Jack;
- Galway City – Muhammad;
- Roscommon – Jack;
- Leitrim – James;
- Longford – Cillian;
- Westmeath – Noah;
- Cavan – Rían;
- Offaly – Jack;
- Clare – Jack;
- Laois – Cillian, Jack;
- Limerick City – Jack;
- Limerick County – Jack;
- Tipperary – Jack;
- Kerry – Jack, Noah;
- Cork County – Jack;
- Cork City – Noah;
- Tipperary – Jack;
- Waterford City – Noah;
- Waterford County – Harry, James;
- Kilkenny – Jack;
- Carlow – Jack;
- Wexford – Conor, Ollie, Patrick, Tadhg;
- Wicklow – Noah;
- Laois – Cillian, Jack;
- Kildare – Noah;
- Meath – Jack;
- Monaghan – Jack;
- Louth – Noah;
- Dublin City – Jack;
- Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown – Jack;
- Fingal – Jack, Noah,
- South Dublin – Jack.
Girls’ names
The body has provided a breakdown of the most popular girls’ names by county in 2022:
- Mayo – Éabha;
- Sligo – Mia, Millie;
- Galway County – Éabha;
- Galway City – Lily, Saoirse;
- Roscommon – Grace, Saoirse;
- Leitrim – Grace;
- Longford – Anna;
- Westmeath – Emily;
- Cavan – Olivia;
- Offaly – Grace;
- Clare – Fiadh;
- Laois – Fiadh;
- Limerick City – Zoey;
- Limerick County – Fiadh, Sophie;
- Tipperary – Anna;
- Kerry – Croía, Ellie, Freya, Grace, Siún;
- Cork County – Emily;
- Cork City – Freya;
- Tipperary – Anna;
- Waterford City – Grace;
- Waterford County – Grace;
- Kilkenny – Emma;
- Carlow – Lily;
- Wexford – Fiadh;
- Wicklow – Isla;
- Laois – Fiadh;
- Kildare – Grace;
- Meath – Fiadh;
- Monaghan – Grace;
- Louth – Grace;
- Dublin City – Emily;
- Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown – Olivia;
- Fingal – Olivia;
- South Dublin – Ellie, Emily, Lily.
Other key findings:
- There were 8,982 distinct new-born names registered in 2022.
- In terms of popularity, Éala rose fastest up the rankings in 2022, from 177thplace in 2021 to 91st in 2022;
- Murphy was the most common surname for babies born in 2022.
- Some of the less frequently used girls’ names registered in 2022 and not included in the top 100 names were Matilda, Zoey, Tessa, Margot, Daria, Amira, Everleigh and Ariyah.
- Some of the less popular boys’ names registered in 2022 were Cían, Nicholas, Ciarán, Art, Mustafa and Romeo.
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