Revealed: Ireland’s most unpopular baby names
Jack and Emily continue to top the list when it comes to Ireland’s most popular baby names, but new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have revealed the once popular names that are rapidly becoming extinct.
Fergus, Bartholomew, Carmel and Imelda are names which featured in the top 100 list in 1964, but in 2014, three or less children were registered with the monikers.
The new figures found that many names which featured in the most popular list in 1964 are no longer favoured by Irish parents who have become more adventurous with the names they bestow upon their children.
Bernadette, a name which once the fifteenth most popular name in Ireland, has dropped more than 700 places as just four children were bestowed the name in 2014. Three of less Irish children were named Carmel in 2014, despite the name being one of the top thirty most popular in 1964.
Ursula, Ronald, Nuala and Dolores have also rapidly declined in popularity since their heyday and there were less than three Irish children registered with the names in 2014, despite once featuring in the top 100. Just three children were named Trevor, Noreen, Cornelius and Kenneth in 2014, even though these were some of the most beloved baby names in 1964.
Spokesperson for Irish parenting website Mummypages.ie Laura Haugh said Irish parents are opting for names that have special meaning to them, and keeping with traditional choices.
"We are seeing a noticeable return to more traditional baby names of late. Our sense is that mums in Ireland are moving away from naming their children after celebrities and pop stars, instead opting for a name that has special meaning or symbolism for the parents and will stand the test of time. However these traditional names do not extend to those once popular fifty years ago such as Dolores or Carmel, instead they are those names like Jack and Emily that have proved popular year on year throughout the last fifty years.
"It seems the celebrities we look up to are doing the same with Robbie Williams calling his daughter Theodora Rose Williams, Lily Allen named her daughter Ethel May and Elton John & David Furnish called their son Elijah Joseph Daniel," she told Independent.ie.
The comparative figures compiled by the CSO show just how much Irish parents have evolved in half a century when it comes to naming their little ones.
In Ireland, Jack, Emily, Sophie and James were the most popular names of 2015 but there are some monikers which have stood the test of time. Thomas, Michael and Anna were amongst the most popular names in 1964 and have retained their position on the list of Ireland’s most popular names in 2015.
Ireland’s Most Unpopular Names
*All names were included in a list of Ireland’s most popular baby names in 1964
Fergus - Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Bartholomew- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Ronald- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Carmel- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Ursula- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Nuala- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Imelda- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Dolores- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Brenda- Less than 3 children registered in 2014
Noreen- 3 children in 2014
Trevor- 3 children in 2014
Cornelius- 3 children in 2014
Kenneth- 3 children in 2014
Eugene- 4 children in 2014
Theresa- 4 children in 2014
Bernadette- 4 children in 2014
Frances- 5 children in 2014
Desmond- 6 children in 2014
Dorothy- 6 children in 2014
Philomena- 6 children in 2014
Terence- 7 children in 2014
Maurice -7 children in 2014
Eileen- 8 children in 2014
Sharon- 8 children in 2014
Audrey- 8 children in 2014
To view Ireland's most popular baby names in 1964 visit www.CSO.ie
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