CSO reveals the most popular names for babies born in the lead-up to Christmas last year

The CSO data shows how baby names in Ireland have changed over time. File picture: iStock

Robyn, Fiadh and Rian were the most popular names for babies born during the festive period last year, the Central Statistics Office has revealed.

Breaking down the figures for babies born in December 2024, it said there were seven more babies born on Christmas Day 2024 than on the same day in 2023 before revealing a break down of the top baby names by gender.

Top baby boy names

• 'Little King' Rían (44 boys named this born in December 2024)
• Noah (38)
• Jack (34)

While the name Noah declined in popularity when compared to the previous year, it held down second place again while Rían — which means 'little king' — took top spot.

Top baby girl names

• Robyn and Fiadh (both 27)
• Sophie (23)
• Éabha and Emily (both 22)

Over 18% of all the Robyns born last year in Ireland were born in December, suggesting it is a popular name chosen for girls born during the festive season.

Although 19 girls were named Holly in December 2024, the popularity of the name has fallen down the rankings despite being either the top or joint-most popular girls’ name in December for a 10-year stretch up to 2023.

Nollaig, a unisex name and the Irish word for Christmas, came just inside the top 900 most popular girls’ names in 2024 with three.

On Christmas day, itself, the CSO does not release statistics for the names chosen for babies born on December 25. Numbers-wise, however, it could say that 39 girls and 43 boys were born on Christmas Day 2024.

CSO statistician Seán O’Connor said: “While we saw a lot of movement in the names chosen for baby girls in December 2024, it was interesting to see Holly move off top spot and down the list to fifth in the rankings with Robyn and Fiadh moving up.

“When it comes to boys, the all-year round trend shifted with Jack making way for Rían in December 2024 while Noah held his second-place position for the second year in a row.” 

The CSO data shows how baby names in Ireland have changed over time. 

As it revealed earlier this year, John was the most popular boys' name in 1974, but occupied the 29th position in 2024. For girls, Mary was the most popular name 50 years ago, whereas in 2024 it ranked joint 105th alongside Laura and Zoey.

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Jack has been the most popular boys name in Ireland since 2007, with the exception of 2016, while Sophie rose to first place in 2024 from fourth a year prior. 

Mr O'Connor said: "While Jack has been the most popular name for baby boys in Ireland for eight years in a row, there is more variety when it comes to the top spot for girls. 

"In 2024, Sophie was the most popular name for girls, while in 2023 it was Grace and in 2022 it was Emily. Grace, Emily, and Sophie have been permanent fixtures in the top five names for baby girls every year since 2016, with Éabha entering the top five for the first time in 2021 and ranking in second place in 2024."