The most popular names for babies born in in Ireland December 2021 have been revealed by Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Holly and Jack were the most popular names for babies born in December 2021, according to a new release from the CSO.

There were 89 babies born in Ireland on Christmas Day 2021, of which 51 were boys and 38 were girls.

While the CSO says it is not possible to reveal the names chosen on Christmas Day, there seems to be a Biblical reference for four of the five names in the list of Top 5 boys names in December 2021.

The most popular names chosen for baby boys born in Ireland throughout December 2021 were:

  1. Jack (58)
  2. Noah (42)
  3. Michael (38)
  4. James (37)
  5. Daniel (36)

The most popular names chosen for baby girls born in Ireland in December 2021 were:

  1. Holly (45)
  2. Ellie (34)
  3. Grace (33)
  4. Emily (32)
  5. Ava and Ella (29 each)

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Comparing 2021 with 10 years prior, there are some differences, most notably in the number of babies born on Christmas Day.

In 2011, there were 130 babies born in Ireland on Christmas Day - 70 boys and 60 girls.

For boys born in Ireland throughout the whole of December 2011, the most popular names were:

  1. Jack (79)
  2. Sean* (65) (Names containing accents have been recorded without those accents e.g. Seán was recorded as Sean.)
  3. Daniel (63)
  4. Conor (58)
  5. Adam and James (55 each)

The most popular names chosen for baby girls born in Ireland in December 2011 were:

  1. Holly (99)
  2. Emily (62)
  3. Sophie (47)
  4. Ella (40)
  5. Lucy (39)

Commenting on the release, Gerard Doolan, Statistician in the Vital Statistics Division, said: “Looking at the most popular names for babies born in December compared with those whose birth was registered in December we can see a clear Christmas influence when it comes to naming girls.

"Holly was the fifth most popular girls name in 2021 by registration (25) but was comfortably the top name for baby girls born in December (45).

"In terms of the whole of 2021, the most popular name for girls was Fiadh, while Jack topped the chart for boys’ names not only in December, but for the whole of 2021.”

You can see the full list of the most popular Irish Baby Names in 2021 here via the CSO.

The most popular Irish Baby Names in 2022 will be published in February 2023.