Emily and Jack most popular Irish baby names in 2013

The most popular Irish baby names in 2013 were Emily and Jack, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures released today.

Emily retained the top spot for the third year running, while Jack has remained in the top five boys’ names since 1998.

It seems Irish parents aren’t quite as partial to flamboyant names as our friends across the Atlantic, with Emma, Sophie, Ella and Amelia making the top five following Emily.

The leading five boys’ names - Jack, James, Daniel, Conor and Sean - have fluctuated very little in recent years with only a slight change in order since 2012.

But where are all the Aryas, Khaleesis and Joffreys? It seems Irish Game of Thrones fans aren't quite as diehard as our American pals where in 2012, 146 American baby girls were named Khaleesi after the fictional dragon queen from the hit HBO TV series.

Back on Irish soil, the most exotic names we could come up were Kayden and Kai which both entered the top 100 male baby name charts for the first time in 2013.

Meanwhile, Ryan was considered "the" name for baby boys from Cavan in 2013. Waterford City opted for Aaron, while there were plenty of Charlies, James and Ryans popping up in Monaghan.

Names often depended on the nationality of the parents, with Noah the most popular boy's name chosen by parents living in Ireland from the EU15 countries. Parents from EU28 countries, member countries that joined the EU after 2004, were more inclined to call their son Jakub.

For girls, there was a much wider range of names outside the top five that were both county and city favourites. These included Ava, Caoimhe, Kate, Grace, Hannah, Mia, Rachel and Sarah.

Emma gained the top spot for parents who stated they were from the EU15, and Julia was the most popular with parents from EU28 countries living in Ireland.

The CSO also released an analysis of the most popular baby names in 1963. Unsurprisingly Mary and John topped the charts. That year 3,721 baby girls were called Mary; 3,892 boys were named John.

Margaret, Catherine, Ann and Anne followed in the top five for girls while Patrick, Michael, Paul and James were the top boy’s names.

The name John still made the top 30 Irish names in 2013, ranking 27 in the top 100 names. The name Mary ranked 81 in 2013.

Maps provided by Dataconversion Direct; data from CSO