Christmas has an influence on babies born in December, with Holly being the most popular girl’s name for babies born that month in 2021, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In December 2021, there were 89 babies born on Christmas Day, of which 51 were boys and 38 were girls.
While the CSO said it was not possible to reveal the names chosen on Christmas Day, Jack and Holly were the most popular names chosen throughout that month.
According to the statistics body, there was a biblical reference for four of the five names in the list of top five boys names in December 2021.
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The most popular names chosen for baby boys born throughout December 2021 were: Jack (58); Noah (42); Michael (38); James (37); and Daniel (36).
The most popular names chosen for baby girls in December 2021 were: Holly (45); Ellie (34); Grace (33); Emily (32); while Ava and Ella were joint fifth with 29 names each.
When compared to December data from a decade earlier, the most notable difference is the number of babies born on Christmas Day. In 2011 there were 130 babies born on Christmas Day, with 70 being boys and 60 being girls.
For boys born throughout the whole of December 2011, the most popular names were: Jack (79); Seán (65); Daniel (63); Conor (58); and Adam and James were joint fifth with 55 names each.
The most popular name choices for baby girls in December 2011 were: Holly (99); Emily (62); Sophie (47); Ella (40); and Lucy (39).
Gerard Doolan, statistician in the vital statistics division of the CSO, said: “Looking at the most popular names for babies born in December compared with those whose birth was registered in December we can see a clear Christmas influence when it comes to naming girls.
“Holly was the fifth most popular girls name in 2021 by registration (25) but was comfortably the top name for baby girls born in December (45).
“In terms of the whole of 2021, the most popular name for girls was Fiadh, while Jack topped the chart for boys’ names not only in December, but for the whole of 2021.”
Jack has held the top spot as the most popular boy name each year since 2007, with the exception of 2016 when James was the most popular name.
Last year was the first time Fiadh took the number one spot for girls names, climbing from second place in 2020 and third in 2019.
Grace had been the most popular name for baby girls in 2020 with Emily being the most popular prior to this since 2011.
The CSO will release the most popular baby names for 2022 in February.
