Jack and Sarah come out tops in the name game
The latest figures show a total of 1,073 boys were registered Jack in 2007, while 656 girls were called Sarah — putting them both firmly at the top of the list of most popular babies names.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show Jack was well ahead of Sean, (965), Conor (821), Daniel (725) and James (713).
The 656 Sarahs were closely followed, however, by Emma (632), Ella (601), Katie (566) and Sophie (556).
The figures also show there were a total of 70,620 births registered in 2007, 36,010 males and 34,610 females.
The CSO said that in general, girls were given a wider variety of names than boys, with 42.3% of girls given a name not in the top 100, compared with 32.8% of boys.
Four of the top five boys’ names — Jack, Sean, Conor and James — have been in the top five since 1998, with only their order changing from year to year.
Jack held its current position in 2005.
Daniel is a new entry to the top five at number four but has been ranked sixth from 2002 to 2006.
However, the CSO said there has been more change in girls’ names.
While Emma and Sarah have been in the top five since 1998, Katie has only been in the top five since 2003, Sophie has been in it since 2006 and Ella is in the top five for the first time.
The results are based on an analysis of the first names recorded on birth returns for registration and vital statistics, begun by CSO in 1998.
There were six first time entries to the top 100 for boys: Rhys, Oliver, Jayden, Louis, Lucas and Jacob.
Edward also returned to the top 100 after a two-year absence (up 33 places to 82) and Reece returned after a three-year absence.
The name rising the most was Jayden, up 220 places to 85.
There were also six first-time entries to the top 100 for girls: Brooke, Millie, Taylor, Muireann, Freya and Maya. Sara also returned to the top 100 after a two-year absence and Lara returned after a four-year absence.
The highest new entry was Brooke, which climbed from 289th place in 2002 and 133rd in 2006 to reach 73rd place. Regionally, Jack was the most popular boys’ name in seven out of eight areas, except in Dublin where Sean was registered more.
Sarah was the most popular girls’ name in the border and south-west regions,
Emma was tops in the west and mid-west, while Ella was favourite in the mid-east and south-east regions.
In Dublin, Sophie was the most popular, while Katie was the number one name in the midlands.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
