NI's Most Popular Baby Names Revealed

The most popular baby names for Northern Ireland in 2014 have been released in a new report.

The information, published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), revealed that Jack is the most popular name for baby boys in the region, while the most popular girls' name is Emily. It is the second consecutive year both names have topped their respective list.

In Northern Ireland in 2014, 285 boys were named Jack. This was closely followed by James (276) and Daniel (236) Charlie (224) Oliver (155) and Jacob (148) also made the top ten list of most popular boys' names.

Other monikers climbed the ranks, with Kian breaking into the top 100 names. In 2013, the name was placed 171, while last year, it jumped to 78.

Of the ten most popular boys' names, three – Jack, James and Daniel – were also included in the top ten a decade ago. In fact, in the last 15 years, Jack has been the most popular boys' name on 13 occasions; Matthew has taken the top spot on the other two occasions.

And when it comes to some of the more unusual names given to boys last year, these included Rocco, Peanut, Kaanye and Princeton.

Looking at the girls, 261 were named Emily last year. This was followed by Grace (189) and Sophie (180) Olivia (152), Lucy (149) and Eva (146) also featured in the top ten. Among the climbers, Aria moved from a rank of 218 in 2013, to 89 last year.

Interestingly, Sophie is the only girl's name in the top ten which also featured a decade ago. Over the last 15 years, Katie has been the most popular name on six occasions, with Chloe and Sophie both appearing on three occasions.

There were also some less common names given to girls last year, including Texas, Suri, Piper and Blessing.

The top 10 boys' names in 2014 were: Jack, James, Daniel, Charlie, Harry, Noah, Oliver, Ethan, Jacob and Thomas. For the girls, the top 10 names in 2014 were: Emily, Grace, Sophie, Amelia, Ella, Olivia, Anna, Lucy, Sophia and Eva.

(JP/CD)