JAMES HAS reclaimed its title of the most popular name for boys chosen by parents who announced their babies' arrivals in birth columns of The Irish Timeslast year, while Grace and Anna shared the top spot for girls.
James had been the most popular name for boys for three years in a row before being pushed down the list by Jack, Harry and Tom in 2007.
Jack was narrowly beaten to second place last year and was followed by Daniel, Adam and Matthew. Both Adam and Matthew saw a surge in popularity last year, as did John, which found itself back in the top 10 after a year-long absence.
Neither Harry nor Tom made it into the top 10 last year, despite holding joint second place in 2007.
While the almost 1,000 birth announcements included many Irish names, only Conor made it into the top 10 most popular boys' names.
No traditional Irish name was included in the top 10 of girls' names. That list is dominated by names such as Emily, Hannah, Kate, Charlotte and Isabella.
In fact, if all the variations of the latter name were combined, it would be the most popular girls' name, with Isabella, Isabelle, Isabel and Isobel all appearing frequently.
Anna has been a consistently popular name in the columns in recent years but it faced a strong challenge by Grace last year.
Lucy, which was the second most popular name in 2007, fell back to 10th place last year.
As always, many unusual names appeared in The Irish Timesbirth columns last year, with parents of girls being the most adventurous in their choices.
Araminta Blue made a dramatic entrance early in the year and she was later joined by Ellienne, Eilidh, Óisíne, Asia, Salla, Sloane, Bronte, Seren, Adah and Esmae.
Many Irish names featured in the girls' list, including Aifric, Síofra, Déarbhla and Fiadh.
Parents of boys also opted for Irish names, including Donnchadh, Sé, Traolach, Seanán, Ruadhán, Ódhrán and Darach.
They also opted for some uncommon names, including Boon, Danann, Lúí, Cahir, Áron, Gethin and Evyn.
Parents showed some originality in selecting the children's middle names. Unusual choices for girls included Tove, Masami, Liberty and Lisette.
Some uncommon middle names for boys included Zafalon, Moss, Keyes and Denzil, the latter possibly inspired by the actor Denzel Washington.
Several announcements involved adoptions from abroad, including Hai from Vietnam and Yegor from Russia.
Some 33 sets of twins and three sets of triplets appeared in the birth announcement columns last year.
The Central Statistics Office will not be releasing data on the most common names in the State in 2008 until late summer, but last year Jack and Sarah were the most popular names registered.
They were followed by Seán and Emma.
Boys
1 James
2 Jack
3 Daniel
4 Adam and Matthew
6 John
7 Sam, Oliver and Conor
10 Alex
Girls
1 Grace and Anna
3 Emily
4 Hannah
5 Kate
6 Charlotte
7 Isabella
8 Emma and Sarah
10 Lucy
Source: The Irish Timesbirth announcement columns in 2008
