Most popular baby names in Ireland: the 2024 CSO list
Jack and Sophie hold the top spots, the Irish-language names keep climbing, and Mary has left the top 100.
In short
In the most recent CSO figures, for babies born in 2024, the top boys' names in Ireland were Jack, Noah, Rían, Cillian and James, and the top girls' names were Sophie, Éabha, Grace, Emily and Fiadh.
- Jack has been the number one boys' name for eight years running.
- Irish-language names hold four of the ten top spots: Rían, Cillian, Éabha and Fiadh.
- Caleb was the fastest riser for boys, jumping from 142nd to 91st. Rhea climbed 37 places for girls.
- Mary fell out of the top 100 for only the third time in 50 years.
- The CSO's interactive tool lets you check any name's ranking, including by county.
Every year the Central Statistics Office publishes the full list of names given to babies registered in Ireland, and every year it settles a thousand kitchen-table debates. Here is what the latest release, covering babies born in 2024, actually says, and where to dig into the data for your own county and your own shortlist.
The top 5 boys' names in Ireland
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jack |
| 2 | Noah |
| 3 | Rían |
| 4 | Cillian |
| 5 | James |
Jack is remarkably durable. It has topped the boys' list every year since 2007 with a single exception, 2016, when James briefly took the crown. Eight consecutive years at number one is a run no girls' name can match.
The top 5 girls' names in Ireland
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sophie |
| 2 | Éabha |
| 3 | Grace |
| 4 | Emily |
| 5 | Fiadh |
The girls' top 5 is where the shift towards Irish-language names shows most clearly. Éabha at number two and Fiadh at number five would both have been unusual choices twenty years ago. Now they sit beside Sophie, Grace and Emily as the mainstream.
The risers, the newcomers and the departures
The most interesting part of the release is always the movement below the top 10.
- Fastest risers: Caleb made the biggest jump on the boys' side, from 142nd in 2023 to 91st in 2024. Rhea climbed 37 places to 93rd for girls.
- New to the top 100: Rowan, Caleb and Iarlaith for boys; Hallie, Rhea, Caragh and Aurora for girls.
- The big departure: Mary, once the default Irish girls' name, fell out of the top 100 with just 46 registrations, ranking joint 105th. In the 50 years since 1974, that has happened only three times.
Check your own county, and your own shortlist
The CSO publishes an interactive baby names tool where you can type in any name and see how many babies received it each year, how its ranking has moved over decades, and which names top the list in each county. It is genuinely one of the best rainy-evening websites in Ireland, and the fastest way to find out whether your shortlisted name is about to be shared with half the crèche.
For the county-by-county picture in a more readable form, Everymum's county breakdown is a good companion read. And if you want to see how Irish choices compare internationally, Nameberry's Ireland page tracks the same names against trends in the UK and the US.
A few things Irish parents weigh up
- The fada matters. Rían, Éabha, Fiadh and friends all carry one. Forms, flight bookings and some school systems still occasionally mangle it, so decide early whether you will fight that fight (most parents happily do).
- Popularity cuts both ways. A top 5 name means your child will rarely have it mispronounced, and will also answer to it along with two classmates. A name around ranks 50 to 100 tends to feel familiar without being everywhere.
- Say it with the surname, out loud, several times. Including the shortened version the schoolyard will inevitably choose for you.
- You have time. Births in Ireland must be registered within 3 months, so the baby can arrive before the debate ends. Plenty do.
After the name comes the rest
Choosing the name is the fun part of the last trimester. The less glamorous part is getting ready for the first weeks at home, which is where we can actually help. Start with the Irish hospital bag checklist and our guide to how often a newborn feeds, and if you are still expecting, the free 5-week email course for expecting parents walks you through what those early weeks look like.