Baby boom sees most births in more than a century
Ireland is experiencing a baby boom with the highest number of births in more than a century, it was revealed today.
Some 75,065 youngsters were born last year – a figure not seen since 1896 - with almost half to first-time mothers.
Jack topped the poll as the most common boys’ name for the second year running while Ava took the number one spot for newborn girls for the first time, beating off Katie.
In February Bishop of Killala and Cura Pregnancy counselling agency president John Fleming warned the recession was making women doubt they can afford children.
However, the Central Statistics Office said 38,593 boys and 36,472 girls were born in total last year, with just more than a third outside of marriage.
The five top boys’ names – Jack, Sean, Conor, Daniel and James- were on the same list in 2007.
Four – Jack, Sean, Conor and James – have been the best-loved since 1998 with only their order changing.
There was more variety in the girls’ top names, with Emma and Sarah in the list since 1998, Katie since 2003, while Emily and Ava made their debut appearance.
There were five first-time entries for the top 100 boys’ names – Jakub, Kacper, Filip, Billy and Patryk – reflecting the new Ireland.
Hugh returned to the top 100 after a two-year absence and Odhran and Lorcan returned after three years.
The highest new entry at number 63 was Jakub which rose from 649th place in 2003 and 105th in 2007.
Girls are given a wider variety of names than boys, with 43% of young ladies given a name not in the top 100, compared with almost 35% of boys.
There were four first time entries to the top 100 for girls: Maja, Natalia, Zuzanna and Meabh.
The highest new entry was Maja, which climbed from 657th place in 2003 and 110th in 2007 to reach 73rd place.
Jack was the most popular boys’ name in seven out of eight regions, except in Dublin were Sean was was the favourite.
Ava was the most popular girls’ name in the Dublin region, Katie in the midland and mid-east regions, Sarah in the mid-west and south-west regions, Emma in the border and west regions and Emily in the south-east region.
Meanwhile the Crisis Pregnancy Agency said the rate of teenage pregnancy had dropped from 2,464 in 2007 to 2,426 last year.
Caroline Spillane, Director of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, said: “The rate of teenage births in Ireland is relatively low in comparison with other countries, however it is an issue which the Agency works to address.”
