Jack is back. It has been one of the most popular boys' names for many years but it rose to the top in The Irish Times' birth announcements column last year.
Sophie didn’t even make it into the top 10 in 2013 but last year she topped the charts while Sophia, the second choice of parents in 2013, trailed behind last year.
Harry was the second most popular choice for parents of boys while Benjamin, Conor, Daniel, Hugo, James, Max and Toby were in joint third place. Anna and Emily shared second place for the most popular girls’ name, while third place was held by Alice, Aoife, Ella, Hannah, Isabel, Lauren, Olivia, Rachel, Sadhbh and Zara.
Triplets
The arrival of almost 380 babies was announced in the Saturday column last year, including the birth of nine sets of twins and one set of triplets.
There has been a shift towards more traditional names in recent years and the 2014 list included Mary, Paddy, Séamus and Nora. There weren’t as many eclectic choices but some unusual girls’ names included Wren, Dirren and Neeve.
In 2013 Thomas and Lucy were the most popular names in the birth announcements column. The Central Statistics Office has not yet released the most popular baby names in the State for 2014 but in 2013 Emily and Jack were the top two.
Emily retained the top spot for the third year running, while Jack has remained in the top five since 1998.
