Emily and Oisín most popular names in city

In Limavady the most popular names were Anna and Jacob; and in Strabane Grace/Lily and Jack were top of the nominative pops.

Across Northern Ireland Jack and Sophie retained the trophy of most popular first names given to children.

Jack has been the most popular boy’s name for the last decade, while Sophie remains the most popular girl’s name since 2010.

There were around 300 baby boys named Jack and around 250 baby girls named Sophie registered in 2012 so far.

Since 2003, Jack has been the most popular boy’s name. James has held second position for the second year running. Daniel is the third most popular name in 2012 climbing from fifth place in 2011.

This year Riley and Noah have increased in popularity to reach the top 10 from ranks 18 and 13 respectively.

For girls, Sophie remains the most popular girl’s name for the third year in a row. Emily has climbed from third place in 2011 to second place in 2012 and Grace has fallen from second place in 2011 to third place in 2012.

Katie, which had fallen out of the top 10 names last year has re-entered, ranked eighth. Amelia and Aoife have increased in popularity to enter the top 10 in 2012 ranked fourth and tenth, from ranks 33 and 15 respectively in 2011.

The majority of the top 10 boys’ names from a decade ago are present in the top 20 in 2012, with one exception, Ben, which has fallen from eighth in 2002 to rank 33 in 2012.

Only Katie remains in the top 10 girls’ names, dropping however from third most popular in 2002 to eighth in 2012. Chloe, Emma and Sarah, all in the top 10 in 2002, are present in the top 20 in 2012.