Ireland’s top baby names: Rían and Lily take first place for the first time

The CSO's latest baby names figures, for babies registered in 2025, show Irish-language names rising fast. Here are the top names, the biggest climbers, the county favourites and how tastes have changed since the 1970s.

For the first time, a name with a fada is Ireland's most popular boys' name. Rían was given to 490 baby boys registered in 2025. It ends a long run for Jack, which had been top every year since 2007 except one.

Lily is the top girls' name, also for the first time. The figures come from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which counts the names on every birth registered in the year.

The top names in 2025

Further down the top 10, Leo was 10th for boys, with 261 babies. For girls, Olivia was 8th and Croía was 9th.

Sophie, the top girls' name in 2024, dropped to joint 6th. Sadie made the top five for the first time. Jack and James have both been in the boys' top five every year since 1998.

Irish-language names are climbing

Two of the top five boys' names, Rían and Oisín, are Irish-language names. So are two of the top five girls' names, Éabha and Fiadh. Croía, another Irish name, is in the girls' top 10.

The CSO has counted names with a síneadh fada (the accent on vowels in Irish) separately since 2018. That means Rían and Rian are counted as two names. It also means Seán ranks 23rd, while Sean without a fada ranks 141st.

Éala, a girls' name, has grown almost eightfold in four years, from 27 babies in 2021 to 209 in 2025. Páidí, a boys' name, nearly tripled over the same period, from 84 to 239.

The biggest climbers

The CSO measures risers in two ways: by how many more babies got the name, and by how many places it jumped in the rankings.

For boys, Naoise jumped 74 places to 88th. Six new names entered each top 100.

• New boys' names in the top 100: Levi, Dáire, Naoise, Conall, Elijah, Teidí
• New girls' names in the top 100: Ríadh, Gracie, Mabel, Arabella, Nancy, Raya

Favourites differ by province and county

Names are counted by where the mother lives. Rían was top or joint top in 12 areas, including Wicklow, Kerry and Clare. Jack still led in 10, including Limerick, Kilkenny, Louth and Laois.

• Liam was top in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Kildare.
• Fionn was top in Westmeath, and Leo in Fingal.
• Croía was top in Kerry, though 9th nationally.
• Hannah was top in Laois, though 21st nationally.
• Ayla, 39th nationally, was top in Limerick City.
• Grace was top or joint top in eight counties.

Parents' nationality shapes choices

Where both parents are Irish, the top names are Rían and Éabha. Where both parents are from outside the EU and UK, they are Muhammad and Hannah.

Where both parents are from the newer EU member states, the favourites are David and Olivia. Liam and Olivia lead where both parents are from the older EU member states, other than Ireland.

How tastes have changed since the 1970s

In 1973, 1,529 baby girls were named Mary and 2,431 boys were named John. In 2025, just 41 girls were named Mary. It ranks 112th, and is out of the top 100 for only the fourth time since 1975.

In 1975 the top five boys' names were John, Michael, David, Patrick and Paul. John is now 29th. James is the only name in the boys' top 10 in both 1975 and 2025.

Some girls' names have lasted well. Olivia was 4th in 1975 and is 8th now. Lily was given to just 15 girls in 1997 and first reached the top 10 in 2011.

The CSO also counts surnames. The 54,120 babies registered in 2025 had 21,154 different surnames. The ten most common surnames covered just 6.3% of babies.

How Ireland compares with its neighbours

In 2024, the latest year compared, Northern Ireland's top names were James and Grace. In Scotland they were Noah and Olivia. In England and Wales they were Muhammad and Olivia.

Some favourites cross borders. Noah, Leo, Luca and Lily are in the top 10 in both England and Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland's top 10 includes Cillian, Fiadh and Oisin, spelled there without a fada.