I called my son Michael but he shortened it to Mike.

Remember hearing of a young one from Cabra called “Pocahontas Brady” about 10 or 12 years ago after Disney brought out the film version.

Unimaginative. Could be worse, though it probably will be in a few years when the likes of Beyonce, Rhianna, Adele etc make up the top 5!!

My sons name is Kevin but we spell it keeevvvinnnn. It makes him stand out more…….

I work in the public sector so i constantly come across unusual names. I know for a fact that there’s a young child called Lady Ga Ga McCarthy in Kerry. I’ve met a family with three daughters whose names were peace, serenity and ocean and last week I met a couple who called their child Leaf…. I’d rather have a common name

I used to be a teacher and a class with four Claras and five Megans is a bit tricky at the start of the year… I named my son Oisin a few years ago and then around that time I started to hear of more kids with the name. I chose it because of the fact it was Irish and I liked the story attached to it, but we emigrated to France last year and when he started school they pronounced it “Wozzan” in french. However he got used to speaking up to correct people and actually it’s a good conversation starter as people always ask what it means… and after I discovered that there were kids in his school called “Aglae”, “Fanny” and “Monkeyon” I didn’t feel so bad… I think there’s some kind of happy medium if your kid is born and raised and lives their life in their home country, to try for something not too common nor not too outlandish, Once you’re abroad and mixing with other nationalities I guess it’s “Vive la Difference” (hopefully anyway)

Delighted to see the name we have picked for our girl who is due tomorrow week isn’t on the list. Not that’s there’s anything wrong with any of them but a class with 5 kids with the same name is brutal and there’s a lot of that at the minute!

My year in primary school had 30 boys. Six of them were named David. That’s a massive 20%.
To the best of my recollection no two of the other 24 of us shared the same name.
Apparently David was a popular name in 1975/76.

Trends come and go in all aspects of life, and baby names is no different.
For hundreds of years people used biblical names. It was their way of kissing the parish Priest’s arse (no paedophilia reference intended).

Think of how many people you know named Mary and Joseph, or their brothers and sisters with their second name being Mary of Joseph and their first name being that of a well known saint.
For example, Saint Anthony has been popular in Dublin for many years. Dublin people must lose an awful lot of stuff.

These days people tend to try to be original by opting for the name of a celebrity, or that of a character from some idiotic American tv show. Emphasis on the word “Try”. Cue a crapload of thumbs down from all the new parents reading this. :)

As for the old Irish names, I am of the belief that this is due to national pride in the wake of the massive upsurge in immigrants to this country. People meet immigrants with Polish, Latvian or whatever names and come to the conclusion that their own child should have an Irish name to highlight their own national identity. I’m probably wrong about that though.

At the end of the day, it could be far worse than Jack and Emily.
I’m sure that when Brooklyn Beckham grows up, he won’t like to think about the fact the he was named after the place he was conceived. Nobody wants to think about their parents riding.

Or you could be burdened with a verb as your given name.
Chip, Buzz, Drew and so forth.
Worse again, you could be the child of a Black American family or Wigger American family and end up with a completely made up name like La Fondue, La Farcical or La Idiotparentialla.

Or you could not really care about other people’s names. It’s not like it’s going to have a detrimental effect on your life.

Donacha is nice,BUT I don’t think it was a great idea from Phil babb to name his son Donacha …..

Harry? Alex? Emily? I’d have to be forgiven for thinking this was a list of another country’s top names.

Just don’t give them a weird name, names don’t really matter after the first time you hear them. and you will have to introduce yourself thousands of times in your lifetime and get fed up of spelling it out and people giving you that odd look as though they expect some explanation for your name, and ‘oh that’s an unusual name’ gets tiring after the thousandth time you hear it. Plus you cannot convince someone of the uniqueness of your child just by giving them an unusual name. Pretentious names are the worst, I was in the health food shop and heard a woman calling ‘India, India, come hear darling’ ugh!!!

I am quietly content to be called Nollaig now. Used to get a lot of grief and haha’s, but anyway. Nollaig shona!

I Love the name donnacha . Always did. I bet though most are named after the Munster player!

I spent ages researching names for my little girl, I wanted it to be uncommon but not weird, short enough that everyone wouldn’t be shortening it more and of course pretty. I didn’t know anyone called Carlie until after I named her then they started popping up everyone… figures!

I love being a Sam/ Samuel. Don’t know any others! Mind you in primary school I want too keen on it. And used to cringe when addressed as Samuel!

Sorry to offend but I stick with my thumbs down for Jack.
No. 1 since 2007.
Less is more.
When I was named these popularity lists didn’t exist.
Another thing I can’t stand is the search for the unique in a common name. We have all met them.
I’m Karen with an ‘O’.
Oh Hi Kareno. Wrong Karon.
Or a Siobhan with a V.
Or the Mark with a C even though his mother has never been to France.

Or the mad Irish names.
‘Caimine’…. Oh that’s unusual.
‘No it’s a really popular old Irish name…

Errrr. 1200 years ago maybe.

It’s a nightmare for teachers.
‘Hands up Jack.
Half the hands in the class go up.

It’s distressing that three of the top 10 boys’ names are actually diminuitives for other names: Jack, Harry, Alex. Then again, while John is all right, I can’t imagine many Irish people naming their kids Henry or Alexander… On the other hand, you could call them that and then just use the short form of the name! But parents seem to have problems with that nowadays: “I don’t want a name that can be shortened”. Parents, is this the case?

We can’t all be characters, not like Sean. What a character

Jack is a name that derived from another name, that’s how names work. Sean derived from John too, ironically enough. Jean, John, Sean and then later, Jack.

Looks like Irish names are on the decline… can’t understand why, they are miles better than common English names

“a little more imagination” coming from someone who is clearly going by the books when they refer to the name “jack”. Anything passes as a name these days, I’m sure people are not following the herd when they choose a baby name but choose it because they Cleary like it at the end of the day, I doubt everybody checks the records to ensure their baby name is not “too” popular! I say high five to all the Jacks!

I think Jack and Emily are both nice names, at least you know your kid isn’t going to get picked on for having a silly name. And if everybody started calling their children more ‘unusual’ names, they wouldn’t be very unique anymore. Give a child a good sturdy name, and let them stand out with their personality!

Jack, again.
Have we no imagination.
Jack is slang for John.
It is a nickname, a characters name and we all can’t be characters.
Otherwise you sound like a footballer analysing a game where the abundance of nicknames nullifies the impact
Keano, Giggsy, Scholsey, Becksy, etc.

A little more imagination.
Less is more.
Enough of Jack please.

I picked Alexander for my son and I have shorted it to Alex and when I picked that name I didn’t think it was popular but there are 3 Alex’s in his class at school , I’m due in few weeks and for a girl I have picked Eve Which is not on the list and for a boy I have picked Carl and that’s not on the list either I’m delighted I am :0)

I like having an unusual name. Its a conversation starter. It’s not annoying that people are interested in its origin or why my parents picked it. But its not Imelda….mkay!

I’m glad the name I have picked for my baby due in 3 weeks is not on the list !! It’s not nice if there are too many kids with the same name , it means my lil girl will stand out a little bit more then the rest lol :0)

“The downside would be having to spell it to every non Irish speaker on the planet! Donnacha’s lovely, but a bit tough if the kid ever emigrated.”

My name is clearly quite complicated but I find that I have a much harder time with it in Ireland than I had when I lived abroad. Foreigners seem to grasp the pronunciation immediately, but most Irish people can’t get their head around it. I’m always asked to spell it, which obviously only further complicates the matter. It’s a good conversation starter, having this name, but some days it’s a pain in the neck.

can’t say that I like my name…. its boring. some people mis-hear it and call me Nora… but that’s worse again ( sorry to all the Noras reading this! )

Just had a little girl and I Named her Emily but had no idea how popular it was, I’ve had that name in my head since I was a teenager. My niece is named Sophie but she’s 16 and 2 of my friends is called Emma and Grace both 30 , just need to find a Lexi and I’ll have the set. Be wary of “unique ” names I’ve spent my life spelling mine for people and explaining how to say it.

Our choice for boys name was Alex

Adore the name Jack, it’s my baby brother’s name. Strangely enough I don’t know any other Emmas. But I do go by Emmie, makes life easier. Although I get called Emily more now…