Sean and Emma top baby names table
Sean and Emma were the most popular babies’ names last year, the second year in a row that they have been top.
There were 928 boys named Sean in 2004, 93 more than the second most popular name, Jack.
There were 787 girls named Emma, 213 more than the second most popular name, Katie.
Exactly the same boys’ names have been in the top five since 1999, with only their order changing from year to year. There has been more change in girls’ names. This year, Amy replaced Ciara in the top five, and only Aoife and Sarah have retained their top five positions every year since 1999.
There were seven first-time entries to the top 100 for boys: Charles, Christian, Hugh, Noah, Odhran, Rian and Tomas. Also, Lorcan and Owen returned to the top 100 after a year’s absence. The highest new entry was Noah, which rose from 213th place in 1999 and 132nd last year to reach 79th place.
The names rising the most places were Odhran (up 56 places to 100) and Noah (up 53 places to 79).
There were four first time entries to the top 100 for girls: Alex, Amelia, Kayla and Orlaith. Also, Ailbhe, Isabel, and Sara returned to the top 100 after a year’s absence. The highest new entry was Isabel, which climbed from 115th place last year to reach 67th place. The names rising the most places were Amelia (up 64 places to 99) and Alex (up 58 places to 93).
In general, the tables show that girls are given a wider variety of names than boys. More than one in three girls (37.5%) were given a name not in the top 100, compared with 27.9% of boys.
