Modern Irish girl names

Irish baby girl names have moved on from Mary and Bridget.
The top Irish baby names for girls in 2008 were Ava, Sarah and Katie

traditional Irish girl names written on pegs

Irish girl names have changed dramatically since the civil registration system was introduced in 1864.

The top ten Irish female names for girls in 2008 show that only Sarah and Kate/Katie have survived the passing of 150-plus years. If you take a look at my research into Irish first names in 1864, you'll see that Sarah came in at number 9 while Catherine/Kate claimed third place (and Catherine was by far the more popular of the choice).

Ann/Anna, the fifth most common Irish baby girl names for our 19th century ancestors, just manages to squeeze into the top 20 in the modern era.

Perhaps the biggest change is that one third of all infant girls are no longer given the name Mary. In fact, only 121 of the 36,472 births registered in 2008 recorded Mary as a first name. Poor old Mary came in at 60th place in the popularity stakes. Still, she's had a good innings and will probably be recognised as THE Irish girl name for many years to come.

Another significant feature of the 21st century list of top Irish girl names is the appearance of so many traditional Irish names. Examples include Aoife, Ciara, Caoimhe and Niamh which hit the popularity stakes at numbers 8, 14, 17 and 18 respectively, and were the names given to just over 1,600 little colleens born in 2008.

These are Old Irish names, drawn from Celtic history or from the Celts' Gaelic language.

While the most popular Irish names for boys have continued to draw on the bible for inspiration, female Irish names do not. The influences are much more varied and much more exotic, suggesting that Irish parents are prepared to express their imagination when naming their daughters but prefer much more 'solid' and 'trusted' names for their sons.

The 2008 statistics show that 43% of girls were given a name that did not appear in the Top 100 Irish Babies' Names list, compared with just under 35% for boys.

Regional differences

While the top five names for girls were most popular within a number of different areas, additional names also emerged as county and city favourites. Grace was ranked first in Dun Laoighaire, Rathdown, Laois, Offaly and North Tipperary. Sophie was joint favourite in Cos. Laois and Meath, while Aoife was joint favourite in Cos. Waterford and Leitrim. Ella, Leah, Laura and Caoimhe were among the most popular girls names in Wicklow, Clare, Galway City and Leitrim respectively.

Ava was the most popular girls name in only one regional authority of Ireland – Dublin – but also grabbed the crown in the cities of Cork and Waterford and in Co. Roscommon.

The lists below show that the top Irish baby girl names in each of the regional authorites except the Southwest has changed in the last ten years.