Ireland’s most popular baby names revealed – with one name claiming top spot for the seventh year in a row

Jack is the most popular boys’ name for the seventh year in a row, while Grace has taken the number one spot for girls’ names.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed its top 100 baby names for 2023, with Jack followed by Noah, James, Rían and Oisín to make up the top five for boys’ names.

The top five for girls’ names also includes Fiadh, last year’s number one Emily, Sophie and Lily.

Jack originated as a nickname for John, while Grace is of Latin origin meaning ‘goodness’ and ‘generosity’.

The latest CSO baby name release continues a run of dominance for Jack that stretches back to 2007.

“Jack has retained the top spot as the most popular baby boys’ name in 2023, a position it has held for every year since 2007, except for 2016, when James was the most popular choice of name,” said CSO statistician Seán O’Connor.

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“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 2023.”

There’s been much more variety in the girls’ top five. 2023’s most popular name was Grace, Emily was number one in 2022 and the most popular entry in 2021 was Fiadh.

New entries on the top 100 for girls this year include Lucia, Síofra and Cadhla, while Caelan, Paddy, Dáithí, Jude and Éanna are the new entries for boys.

There may be some sporting influence coming from the Irish rugby camp and Number 8 Caelan Dorris, with Caelan the biggest riser among boy’s names, up 58 spots to number 50.

Síofra say the biggest rise for girls, up 57 places to number 100.

Looking back to this time 50 years ago, old reliables John and Mary were the most popular baby names in 1973. John was the 31st most popular boys’ name last year and Mary just the 130th most popular girls’ name.

Just 36 babies across the country were given the name Mary last year. James is the only boys’ name to appear in the top ten in both 1973 and 2023.

The CSO also revealed the most common surnames of babies born in 2023. The top five consists of Murphy, Kelly, O’Brien, Ryan and Walsh.

There was again more variety among girls’ names (4,991) than boys’ names (4,181).