Jack and Katie still number one

Jack and Katie are still the most popular baby names among parents in Northern Ireland, the Statistics and Research Agency has revealed.

Katie has topped the girls chart for five years in a row, while Jack has been most popular boys' name since 2003.

The only new entry in the boys' top 20 list is Lewis, at number 19. On the girls' list, Jessica is the highest climber, moving from 13 to four.

James is the only boys' or girls' name from 1975 still in the top 10.

TOP TEN BOYS' NAMES 2008 1 - Jack 2 - Matthew 3 - Daniel 4 - James 5 - Ryan 6 - Joshua 7 - Conor 8 - Thomas 9 - Dylan 10 - Charlie

Eoghan is one of the highest boys climbers, rising from 99 to 52 but after the X-Factor it seems inevitable it will be higher on next year's names chart.

The last decade has seen parents picking an increasingly diverse range of names.

In 2008, approximately 2,000 different girls' names and 1,500 boys' names were chosen, compared to 1,500 girls' names and 1,000 boys' names in 2001.

Creative

Some parents have become more creative in choosing a first name for their offspring.

The music world has inspired some names for boys, and at least one baby born in Northern Ireland in the past year was named Ozzy, Axel, Moby, Chesney, Lennon, Prince or Presley (but there was no Elvis).

Musical girls names included Beyonce, Rhianna, Ashanti, Rio, Pixie, Kylie, Enya and Evita, while it is unclear whether there was method in the madness of the parents who conceived the idea of calling their child Rhythm.

The television series 24 could be partly responsible for the recent popularity of Jack, but some parents have gone further, calling their newborn boy Kiefer, Keifer or Bauer.

TOP TEN GIRLS' NAMES 2008 1 - Katie 2 - Sophie 3 - Grace 4 - Jessica 5 - Emma 6 - Lucy 7 - Emily 8 - Chloe 9 - Hannah 10 - Eva

And perhaps it was footballing fathers who were the driving force behind calling their sons Cristiano, Ronaldo, Leonardo or Rivaldo.

Some boys received hyphenated names such as Bobby-Joe, Bobby-Dee, Brooklyn-Lee and Michael-Ryan, while surely it was a comedy fan who called their son Jack-Dee.

Nolan was also used as a boy's forename, perhaps by a Radio Ulster aficionado, but there is no easy explanation for Rocklyn, Heaven, Maximus, Phoenix (also spelled Phoenixx), A-jay or Diesel.

Among the more interesting girls' names were Indigo-Rose, Olimpia, Triniti, Honey, Vanilla, Tea, Ocean, Serenity, Autumn-Lyn, Kinga, Pepper, Yo-yo and Gypsy.

MOST POPULAR BOYS NAMES 1975 to 2007
Rank	1975	1985	1995	2005	2006	2007
1	David	David	Ryan	Jack	Jack	Jack
2	Paul	Christopher	Matthew	Matthew	Matthew	James
3	John	Stephen	James	Adam	Ryan	Matthew
4	Mark	Mark	Connor	James	James	Daniel
5	Stephen	John	Michael	Daniel	Daniel	Ryan
6	Michael	Paul	Andrew	Ryan	Adam	Adam
7	William	Michael	Christopher	Joshua	Joshua	Joshua
8	James	Andrew	Daniel	Jamie	Callum	Thomas
9	Jonathan	James	Mark	Ben	Ben	Dylan
10	Robert	Jonathan	Jordan	Conor	Ethan	Ben
Source: NI Statistics & Research Agency

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MOST POPULAR GIRLS NAMES 1975 to 2007
Rank	1975	1985	1995	2005	2006	2007
1	Joanne	Laura	Shannon	Katie	Katie	Katie
2	Karen	Emma	Lauren	Emma	Grace	Grace
3	Catherine	Claire	Emma	Ellie	Sophie	Sophie
4	Julie	Sarah	Sarah	Sophie	Emma	Lucie
5	Sharon	Catherine	Rebecca	Niamh	Ellie	Emma
6	Mary	Michelle	Hannah	Hannah	Lucy	Ellie
7	Claire	Nicola	Rachel	Amy	Sarah	Sarah
8	Lisa	Lisa	Amy	Sarah	Hannah	Hannah
9	Michelle	Jenifer	Laura	Anna	Jessica	Erin
10	Nicola	Danielle	Megan	Leah	Erin	Anna
Source: NI Statistics & Research Agency