Most popular names in the city and Limavady

In Limavady the most popular names were Jack and Sophia, whilst parents in Strabane were more likely to name their children Charlie and Sophie.

Jack and Sophie were the most popular first names given to children whose births were registered across Northern Ireland in 2011. Jack has been the most popular boys name for the last nine years, while Sophie remains the most popular girls name since 2010.

Since 2003, Jack has been the most popular boys name but Londonderry’s favourite boys’ name James climbed from third most popular across the province in 2010 to second most popular in 2011.

Matthew was the third most popular name in 2011 climbing from fourth most popular in 2010.

And this year Thomas has increased in popularity to reach the top 10 from rank 13.

The findings are contained in provisional 2011 birth statistics released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

For girls, Sophie remains the most popular girls name for the second year in a row. Grace has climbed from third most popular in 2010 to second most popular in 2011 and Emily has climbed from fourth most popular in 2010 to third most popular in 2011.

Katie, which was the most popular girls name from 2004 to 2009 has fallen out of the top 10 names this year. Sophia has increased in popularity to enter the top 10 in 2011 at rank 4 from rank 29 in 2010.