TRADITIONAL NAMES stayed high in the top 100 list for babies born last year, with Jack and Sarah the most popular picks and few surprises in the top 20.
Some 1,073 babies were named Jack last year, returning the name to the top position it last held in 2005, while 656 baby girls were registered with the name Sarah, keeping it in the top slot from the previous year.
The second most popular boys' name was Seán, with 965 children given that name. It was followed by Conor (821), Daniel (725) and James (713).
For girls, Emma was the second most popular choice of name, with 632 babies registered.
In third, fourth and fifth places were Ella (601), Katie (566) and Sophie (556), figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed.
Four of the top five boys' names (Jack, Seán, Conor and James) have been in the top five since 1998, with only their order changing from year to year, the CSO said.
Daniel is a new entry to the top five at number four, but has been ranked sixth from 2002 to 2006.
The highest new entries into the list of boys' names were Rhys and Oliver, in joint 76th place.
Those two names were among six first-time entries to the top 100 for boys, which also included Jayden, Louis, Lucas and Jacob.
The highest new entry for girls' names was Brooke, rising from 289th place in 2002 and 133rd in 2006 to number 73 last year.
It was also among six new entries into the top 100 girls' names, along with Millie, Taylor, Muireann, Freya and Maya.
Sara (without an H) returned to the top 100 after a two-year absence and the name Lara reappeared after a four-year absence.
Broken down by region, Jack was the most popular boys' name in seven of the eight regional authority areas. The exception was Dublin, where Seán topped the list.
For girls' names, Sara was most popular in the Border and south-west regions.
Emma was the top pick for parents in the west and mid-west regions, while Ella was most popular in the mid-east and southeast and Katie was the top name in the midlands.
In Dublin, Sophie was the most popular choice of name for baby girls.
Some similar names appear with minor spelling variations - there were 239 boys registered with the name Callum, making it number 34 on list, while 159 children were named Calum, putting it at 50.
A spokeswoman for the CSO also revealed the names that fell just outside the top 100.
The next most popular boys' names in joint 101st place are Senan, Isaac and Kian, with Odhran at 104 and Jakub at 105. For girls' names, Ruth was at 101, with Gráinne at 102.
The names Louise, Michelle and Michaela share joint 103rd place.
In all, there were some 4,554 girls' names and 3,604 boys' names registered last year.
However, the top 100 boys' names accounted for 24,212 (67.2 per cent) of all names registered for the 36,010 boys born.
The top 100 girls' names accounted for 19,954 (57 per cent) of the 34,610 girls born in 2007.
Patrick, possibly the signature Irish boys' name, was only the 19th most popular, while neither Mary nor Ann made the girls' top 20.
The figures are based on an analysis of the first names recorded on birth returns for registration and vital statistics, begun by CSO in 1998.