Now no one’s taking the Mick (or Mary) when naming baby

IT appears Michaels, Marys, Johns and Brigids are on the way out – as these traditional names are all being overlooked by modern parents.

Instead, the 21stcentury choices for baby names proving popular include Noah and Ava.

A new survey shows that grandparents usually don’t play an influential role in picking the choice of their grandchildren’s names.

However, Granny and Grandad aren’t being left out completely, as many people choose their own parents’ moniker as their offspring’s middle name.

Names such as Mary, Maureen, John and Michael are unlikely to be given to newborns as first names any time soon, however, with 75% of Irish parents feeling that they are moving away from traditional names.

According to a new survey, Mary, Brigid, Maureen, Joan and Dolores are the most traditional female names, and John, Michael, Patrick, Seamus and Peadar are seen as the most traditional names for males.

The survey – conducted by My Nametags last month ahead of Grandparents’ Day on October 6 – also showed that 80% of new parents say their own parents’ opinions don’t matter when picking a baby name.

While names were traditionally passed from generation to generation, 64% of parents said that they felt it wasn’t important to keep a name alive by passing it on to their children. However, parents haven’t totally forgotten their elders – as 71% revealed that they chose their own parents’ or grandparents’ names as a second name for their child.

In descending order, Ireland’s top five baby names for boys in 2020 were Jack, James, Noah, Daniel and Conor, while the top five for girls were Grace, Fiadh, Emily, Sophie and Ava.

The Central Statistics

80% said parents don’t influence

Office revealed that Grace took the top spot as the most popular name for girls for the first time, in 2020.