Jack and Emma most popular baby names

Names such as Apple, Brooklyn and Shiloh Nouvel may be popular for celebrities' offspring, but here in Ireland we're sticking…

Names such as Apple, Brooklyn and Shiloh Nouvel may be popular for celebrities' offspring, but here in Ireland we're sticking with more traditional names such as Jack and Emma.

These were the most popular baby names chosen last year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

It was the third year in a row that Emma was top of the girls' list while Jack returned to the top position for boys, which it last held in 2002. It replaces Seán which was the most popular name for a boy in 2003 and 2004. There were 703 girls named Emma and 931 boys named Jack in 2005.

The same boys names have been in the top five since 1998, Jack, Sean, Conor, Adam and James, with only the order changing from year to year. There has been more change in girls' names over the same period.

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Emma, Sarah and Aoife have been in the top five since 1998 but Katie is a relative newcomer, having only entered the top five since 2003. Amy has only been in the top five since 2004.

Calum, Leo and Oscar made an appearance for the first time in the top 100. Calum was the highest new entry, rising from 160 in 2000 and 117 last year up to number 70 this year. Ruairi also made it into the top 100 after a year's absence.

Newcomers among the top 100 girls names were Alicia, Alisha, Isabella, Julia and Ruby, while Clara, Emer, Hazel, Heather, Isobel and Zara returned to the list after an absence of a year or more. The highest new entry was Ruby, which climbed from number 207 in 2000 to number 58 last year.

Jack was the top name in the Midlands, Mid-East, Mid-West and South-East regions. Seán was the most popular name in 2005 in Dublin, the West and South-West while Conor was the top boy's name in the Border region.

For girl's names, Emma was the most popular in all regions except the Border region, where the most popular name was Katie, and the South-West, where Sarah was the leading name.