Colm Fitzpatrick
Despite being written thousands of years ago, it seems that Irish people still have a penchant for names found in the Bible, as over half of the top 10 names given to Irish new-born boys are found in the Scriptures, according to a new survey.
Although there are countless names to choose from, research from the Central Statistics Office shows that out of the top ten boy names given to Irish newborns in 2017, six have a Biblical theme, ranging from the first human of God’s creation to the apostles and apocalyptic figures.
Although Jack topped the list, placing No.1, James and Daniel took the silver and bronze prize, representing an influence from both the Old and New Testament. The book of Genesis also seems to resonate with Irish people, with Noah from the Ark epic and Adam from the Garden of Eden account taking the prizes of sixth and ninth.
The Gospel name Luke also placed seventh, whereas the archangel Michael found in the Book of Daniel and Book of Revelation squeezed into the list at No.10.
The other names in the list were Conor and Sean, placing fourth and fifth, while Harry took the prize for eighth place.
Female names
Notably, despite various biblical female names such as Abigail, Ruth and Mary, only one such-themed name appeared in the top 10 list for female new-borns. Hannah, a prophetess, mother of Samuel, and citizen of Jerusalem found in Samuel I, came in at seventh.
For those with a pedantic concern for this topic, the name Sophie which placed fifth, derives from the Greek ‘sophos’. It means wise and is mentioned 44 times in the Bible, being used in the New Testament to describe the men who came to visit Jesus at his birth.
The top three names for Irish new-born girls were Emily, Emma and Emelia.