|
What’s in a name?
 Shakira,
Kylie Setanta not the most usual names for a child.
But they’re among the ones chosen by Irish parents for their off-spring.
The forenames were revealed in a survey of Irish babies names which listed
the most popular.
Top choice for boys was Seán while Sarah was the most popular for
girls.
But the survey also revealed the Irish are enthralled with celebrity culture.
Even though Elvis Presley died 30 years ago four Irish-born boys were
registered with the name of the King Of rock ’n’ roll last
year, and as American heiress Paris Hilton rose to the top of the bad
girl charts eight sets of parents called their daughter after the starlet
or the French capital.
Similarly 15 sets of parents liked the sound of Colombian pop star Shakira
naming their children after the singer.
Another four babies will forever be a reminder of Kylie Minogue after
their parents were unable to get her name out of their heads.
On the sporting front five children were called Setanta either after
the television channel or the brother of Cork hurler Seán Óg
Ó hAilpín.
Similarly Manchester United fans still fond of their former midfield ace
David Beckham named their children after his: Five were called Romeo and
10 Brooklyn.
But despite the colourful choices of names the study revealed parents
of boys were generally more conservative when it came to names than girls.
The top five choices Seán, Jack, Conor, Adam and James have remained
Irish parents favourite boys’ names for the ninth year in a row.
At the bottom of the top 100 were Tristan, Christian, Daire, Oran and
Senan.
Parents of girls are less likely to stick to traditional names. Just over
six-in-10 had names in the top 100 while the remainder were taken from
a choice of 4,047 different monikers.
And while Sarah, Emma and Aoife have remained in the top five baby girls’
names since 1998 there are now two new arrivals: Sophie and Katie. |
