JACK AND Katie are again the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland, according to the latest official statistics. Jack has been the most popular name for the past six years and Katie the most popular for the past five years.
The 10 most popular boys' names in 2008 were Jack, Matthew, Daniel, James, Ryan, Joshua, Conor, Thomas, Dylan and Charlie. The top 10 girls' names were Katie, Sophie, Grace, Jessica, Emma, Lucy, Emily, Chloe, Hannah and Eva.
Only one of the 1975 top 10 boys' names (James) is still on the top ten in 2008, while none of the girls' names from 1975 is on the 2008 list. In 1975 the most popular name for boys was David with traditional names such as Paul, John, Mark, Michael, William, James and Robert also on the top 10. Then the most popular girl's name was Joanne, with Karen, Catherine, Mary and Michelle also making the top 10.
Names increasing in popularity include Lewis, which is the only new boy's name to enter the top 20, ranked 19th. For girls, Jessica moved the most within the top 20, from 13th in 2007 to fourth in 2008. The highest-climbing boys' names were Zach (up 66 places to 79) Cody (up 42 places to 89) and Alfie (up 35 places to 89). The highest climbing girls' names were Leona (up 174 places to 91), Sara (up 87 places to 97) and Daisy (up 71 places to 83).
There were 24,972 births registered in Northern Ireland last year - 12,797 boys and 12,175 girls.
