Ireland's favourite babies' names

Conor and Chloe were the most popular babies' names last year, according to a Central Statistics Office (CSO) survey published yesterday.

In a list which reveals Irish parents as firmly traditionalist when it comes to naming their off-spring, Conor and Chloe maintained the number one rankings achieved in 1998. Conor accounted for 3.1 per cent of boys named in 1999. Chloe accounted for 2.6 per cent of girls named during the same period.

The most popular boys' names in 1999 were Conor, Sean, Jack, James and Adam. The most popular girls' names were Chloe, Aoife, Sarah, Ciara and Niamh.

The CSO boys' chart contained seven new entries: Cameron, Diarmuid, Leon, Lorcan, Neil, Recce and Tadhg. The highest placing was Leon at number 77. There were 11 new entries in the girls' list: Abbie, Abigail, Aishling, Alana, Casey, Ciara, Georgia, Isobel, Katelyn, Kathleen and Lauryn. Lauryn ranked highest at number 70.

Sean was most popular in Dublin but was eclipsed by Conor in the south and midlands. Chloe was the favourite name with parents in the capital, Niamh with those in the Border counties and Rachel was the most popular choice in the west.

The 20 most popular boys' names were: Conor, Sean, Jack, James, Adam, Michael, David, Aaaron, Daniel, Dylan, Shane, Cian, Ryan, Luke, John, Eoin, Mark, Patrick, Thomas and Jordan. The 20 most popular girls' names were: Chloe, Aoife, Sarah, Ciara, Niamh, Emma, Rachel, Rebecca, Lauren, Megan, Amy, Laura, Katie, Emily, Shauna, Nicole, Roisin, Sophie, Kate and Shannon.

The top 100 list accounted for 79.5 per cent of boys and 68.5 per cent of girls named last year. The CSO compiled the chart from an analysis of the 53,354 births recorded the State in 1999.