We are always fascinated to see what baby names parents are choosing for their newborns – and it’s also inspiring for parents-to-be who are trying to make that big decision. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released the most popular baby names in Ireland of 2022, ranking the names that had been chosen by the most parents throughout the year.
Read on to find out the top baby names in Ireland last year!
Most Popular Baby Names in Ireland
Emily is back up to top of the most popular Irish baby names for girls, she was in 3rd spot last year and has been popular now for many years.
Jack has continued on the top spot as the most popular baby boys’ name in 2022, a position it has held since 2007 except for 2016, when James was the most popular choice.
Changes in the Baby Names Rankings
There were four new entrants to the top 100 for girls:
- Hailey
- Phoebe
- Ayda
- Éala
In terms of popularity, Éala rose fastest up the rankings in 2022, from 177th place in 2021 to 91st in 2022.
There were two new entrants to the top 100 for boys:
- Blake
- Cody
Jack and James have been in the top five boys’ names since 1998. Noah and James are the other two boys’ names which make up the top three in 2022.
Looking back 50 years, the most popular girls name at the time was Mary while for boys it was John.
Most Popular Names for Boys
- Jack
- Noah
- James
- Rían
- Charlie
- Oisín
- Tadhg
- Liam
- Cillian
- Daniel
- Fionn
- Michael
- Conor
- Finn
- Patrick
- Thomas
- Darragh
- Harry
- Seán
- Luke
- Theo
- Adam
- Leo
- Alex
- Oliver
- Ryan
- Max
- Cian
- Tommy
- Luca
- Bobby
- Mason
- Dylan
- Jamie
- Kai
- John
- Ollie
- Oscar
- Shay
- Alexander
- Ben
- Matthew
- David
- Tom
- Ethan
- Donnacha
- Alfie
- Jacob
- Billy
- Sam
- Sonny
- Hugo
- Callum
- Evan
- Theodore
- Jake
- Danny
- Páidí
- Leon
- Nathan
- Senan
- Aaron
- Archie
- Joseph
- Lucas
- Jayden
- William
- Arthur
- Freddie
- Joshua
- Logan
- Samuel
- Aidan
- Cathal
- Teddy
- Frankie
- Tomás
- Robert
- Joey
- Daithí
- Benjamin
- Louis
- Arlo
- Kayden
- Tiernan
- Henry
- Muhammad
- Odhrán
- George
- Anthony
- Christopher
- Martin
- Tadgh
- Blake
- Rory
- Ronan
- Cody
- Zach
- Brody
- Isaac
Most Popular Names for Girls
- Emily
- Grace
- Fiadh
- Sophie
- Lily
- Éabha
- Ava
- Mia
- Ellie
- Olivia
- Amelia
- Emma
- Hannah
- Ella
- Freya
- Lucy
- Isla
- Saoirse
- Millie
- Sadie
- Sophia
- Molly
- Chloe
- Caoimhe
- Anna
- Evie
- Isabelle
- Robyn
- Alice
- Aoife
- Róisín
- Sadhbh
- Cara
- Katie
- Erin
- Kate
- Willow
- Croía
- Ruby
- Sofia
- Bonnie
- Holly
- Zoe
- Sienna
- Isabella
- Maya
- Sarah
- Ada
- Rosie
- Leah
- Annie
- Clodagh
- Daisy
- Maria
- Charlotte
- Faye
- Ivy
- Mila
- Eva
- Layla
- Maisie
- Jessica
- Rose
- Eve
- Aoibhín
- Aria
- Ayla
- Emilia
- Harper
- Méabh
- Fíadh
- Ailbhe
- Elizabeth
- Ciara
- Hailey
- Evelyn
- Lauren
- Niamh
- Phoebe
- Hazel
- Bella
- Clara
- Penny
- Abigail
- Ayda
- Elsie
- Mary
- Nina
- Zara
- Luna
- Indie
- Laura
- Éala
- Alannah
- Cora
- Heidi
- Mollie
- Maeve
- Georgia
- Julia
Most Popular Around the Country
Some counties picked names outside the top five, or even outside the top 20.
Grace was the most chosen girl’s name in nine different areas while Mia and Millie were joint first choice in Sligo while they ranked 8th and 19th nationally.
Noah was the top or joint top boys’ name in 10 locations which includes areas such as Donegal and Cork City. While Muhammad was ranked 86th nationally in 2022 with a total of 72 births registered, in Galway City it was the most favoured.
About the Author: Jill Holtz
