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Jack and Sophie most popular baby names in Ireland

Jack is the most popular boys' name, while Sophie topped the list for girls (Stock image)
Jack is the most popular boys' name, while Sophie topped the list for girls (Stock image)

Jack is still the most popular names for boys, while Sophie was the most popular girls name last year, according to figures from the CSO.

The top five boys' names in 2024 were Jack, Noah, Rían, Cillian and James.

Jack takes the top spot for the eighth year in a row, but in terms of popularity Caleb rose fastest up the rankings, from 142nd place in 2023 to 91st place last year.

The top five names for girls last year were Sophie, Éabha, Grace, Emily and Fiadh.

Sophie replaced 2023's top choice of Grace, which dropped to third.

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office show that Rowan, Caleb and Iarlaith appeared in the top 100 names for the first time last year, with Hallie, Rhea, Caragh and Aurora making the list for girls.

CSO Statistician Seán O'Connor said Jack has held the top spot for every year since 2007, except for 2016 when James was the most popular boys' name. Both names have been in the top five since 1998.

Grace, Emily and Sophie have been in the top five names for girls since 2016.

The most popular names for boys and girls born to parents originally from other EU countries were David and Sophia, while Muhammad was the most popular boys' name for parents originally from outside the EU (excluding Ireland and the UK), with Hazel the most popular for girls, the figures showed.

Murphy, Kelly, Byrne, O'Brien and Walsh were the most common surnames for babies born in 2024.

Last year was only the third time in 50 years that Mary did not feature in the top 100, with just 46 babies named Mary last year.

According to CSO figures, there were 9,582 distinct new-born names registered in 2024.

Some of the less frequently used girls' names last year were Róise, Nancy, Lavinia, Lucía, Anya, Dáire and Sinead for girls, while for boys it was Séamus, Luka, Ibrahim, Gearóid, Cristian, Abdullah, Maurice and Thomás.