Top baby names of 2011: Northern Ireland

Whether you want to know the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland in order to get some ideas or to avoid giving your new baby a name that everyone else in her future class will have, we’re here to help!

Thanks to information obtained from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, you can either view our tables showing the top baby boy names and the top baby girl names of 2011 in Northern Ireland or continue reading our analysis of the data collected to get a quick overview.

Yes, I can definitely pull off the name Mason

Like in Scotland, Jack and Sophie top the list as the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland for 2011. However, while Jack has kept the top position for the last nine years, this is only the second year Sophie has held onto the top position. Whereas in Scotland Sophie has been topping the list for the last seven years! Katie held the top position for most popular baby girl name between 2004 and 2009, but in 2011 the name didn’t even make the top 10.

The boy names: Alfie, Riley, Conan, Leo and Mason are on the rise in Northern Ireland and the celebrity influence is obvious, especially with the name Mason (son of Kourtney Kardashian). However, the names Ben, Callum, Ruairi, Zac and Cameron dropped in popularity between 2010 and 2011.

Meanwhile, the girl names Ruby, Sophia, Lily, Farrah and Alexis have grown the most in popularity during 2011 and this trend is expected to continue throughout 2012. However, the names Ava, Leah, Hannah, Alex and Tara have dropped several places in popularity.

Overall, 2200 baby girl names and 1600 baby boy names were registered in Northern Ireland in 2011. Ten years ago in 2001, only 1600 girls’ names and 1000 boys’ names were registered, a trend which indicates that baby names have been getting more diverseover the last decade.

You gave me what name?

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency observed that the older a woman is when she gives birth, the more traditional her baby’s name is. And like in Scotland, multiple forenames are very popular with 89% of boys and 84% of girls having more than one forename. So feel free to give your baby both you and your partner’s favourite name!

See top baby names of 2010 for England and Wales and of 2011 for Scotland.