Northern Ireland

Rock on... Bono, Bowie, Jagger and Nirvana are some of the baby names given in 2020

 Birth registrations in 2020 included 866 baby names that had not been used before.
 Birth registrations in 2020 included 866 baby names that had not been used before.  Birth registrations in 2020 included 866 baby names that had not been used before.

James and Grace were the most popular first names given to babies in Northern Ireland, for births registered in 2020.

Some of the less common names given to babies appeared to have a rock star theme. 

Bono, Bowie, Jagger and River for boys and Nirvana for a girl. 

Birth registrations in 2020 included 866 baby names that had not been used before. Blockbuster movies, popular television series, current celebrities and memorable places also appeared to be influencing factors for some parents.

Other unusal boys names were Denzel, Maverick, Rocky, Triumph and Wolfe. And other less common names for baby girls were Dior, Divine, Ever, Harley-Quinn, Honor, Liberty, Porsche and Vogue.

The statistics show Grace has held the top spot as the most popular girls’ name since 2018, and has appeared in the top three most popular names for 15 consecutive years.

James has been the most popular boys’ name for the past six years, and has ranked in the top five each year since reporting of baby names began in 1997. 

Jack (which held the top spot for 12 consecutive years between 2003 and 2014) comes second to James’ popularity, closely followed by Noah, which actually shared the top spot with James in 2018 before falling to 3rd place in 2019.  

Cillian and Finn joined the boys’ top 10 for the first time in 2020.  Within the boys’ top 100, the highest climbers in popularity between 2019 and 2020 were Senan, Kai and Brody.

Emily remained the second most popular girls’ name in 2020, holding this spot for the last three consecutive years, and Isla was in 3rd place.

In 2020, Fiadh entered the top 10 for the first time since the reporting of baby names began in 1997. Within the girls’ top 100, the highest climbers in popularity between 2019 and 2020 were Arabella, Aoibheann, and Matilda.

Top baby names in Northern Ireland in 2020

Boys:

  1. James  – 190 Babies
  2. Jack – 175 Babies
  3. Noah  – 174 Babies
  4. Charlie  – 169 Babies
  5. Oliver  – 134Babies
  6. Thomas  – 119 Babies
  7. Finn  – 112 Babies
  8. Theo  – 112 Babies
  9. Cillian  – 111 Babies
  10. Harry  – 111 Babies

Girls:

  1. Grace  – 176 Babies
  2. Emily  – 146 Babies
  3. Isla  – 144 Babies
  4. Fiadh  – 138 Babies
  5. Olivia  – 133 Babies
  6. Sophia  – 125 Babies
  7. Sophie  – 123 Babies
  8. Amelia  – 115 Babies
  9. Lucy  – 112 Babies
  10. Ella  – 101 Babies and Freya  - 101 Babies