Jack and Noah share first place for top boys’ names in Carlow
Graphic courtesy of the CSO
IN A YEAR that saw nearly 10,000 distinct baby names registered across Ireland, Carlow parents showed their preference for tradition mixed with a touch of the contemporary when naming their little bundles of joy in 2024.
According to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Jack and Sophie – among the most popular names for newborns in Carlow – are the top baby names in Ireland overall, with Jack maintaining its national dominance for the eighth consecutive year.
Carlow’s top boys’ names was a perfect tie between Jack and Noah, while the county showed a lot of diversity in girls’ names with a 14-way tie for the top spot including Caoimhe, Croía, Emily, Isla, Julia, Kate, Lily, Lucy, Maisie, Molly, Méabh, Rosie, Sadie and Sophie.
Looking at neighbouring counties, Kilkenny parents also favoured Jack for boys, while Éabha topped the list for girls. In Wexford, Rían was the boys’ name of choice, with Sophie leading for girls, while Laois parents opted for Rían and Fiadh.
“We’ve seen some fascinating regional variations across Ireland,” noted Seán O’Connor, statistician in the Vital Statistics Section of the CSO. “While Jack was the top or joint top boys’ name in 11 locations around the country, Sophie was the favourite in seven areas.”
Nationally, Jack, Noah, Rían, Cillian and James made up the top five boys’ names, while Sophie, Éabha, Grace, Emily and Fiadh completed the girls’ top five.
Among the fastest climbers in popularity, Caleb made a remarkable leap of 51 places to reach 91st position for boys, while Rhea jumped 37 places to 93rd for girls. New entries to the top 100 included Rowan, Caleb and Iarlaith for boys, and Hallie, Rhea, Caragh and Aurora for girls.
The times certainly are changing when it comes to naming trends in Ireland. Fifty years ago, John and Mary topped the charts, but Mary has now fallen so far that 2024 marks only the third time in half a century that it failed to feature in the top 100.
Parents’ nationality also influenced naming choices, with David and Sofia being the most popular for babies born to parents from EU27 countries, while Muhammad topped the list for parents from outside the EU.
With 9,582 distinct names registered last year, it seems Irish parents are becoming increasingly creative when it comes to naming their little ones – though Jack’s enduring popularity suggests some classics never go out of style.
