Matthew, Ava and Ellie are the most popular names for new babies born in Derry in 2009, new figures reveal.
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) figures, released on Tuesday, reveal Matthew, Adam, Jack, Shea and Dylan are the five most popular boys’ names this year in the city.
Callum, Conor and Ethan are jointly the sixth most po
pular names, while James, Jamie and Sean are joint tenth on the list.
Ava and Ellie share top spot among Derry's newborn girls, followed by Grace, while Aoife and Sophie are the joint fourth most popular.
Cara and Emma share sixth position while Erin, Leah, Molly and Niamh are the joint 8th most popular names on the list.
Derry has again bucked the trend when it comes to the most popular names for babies in 2009.
Jack and Katie remain the North's most popular baby names - positions they have both held since 2003 and 2002 respectively.
A NISRA spokesman said there had been major changes in the naming of babies over the past 30 years.
"Only one of the 1975 top ten boys’ names (James) is still in the top ten in 2009, while none of the top ten girls’ names from 1975 appear in the 2009 top ten list,” a spokesperson said.
"Over the last decade, parents have become more diverse in the first names they have given to their babies. In 2009, there were approximately 2,000 girls’ and 1,400 boys’ names used; compared with 1,500 girls' and 1,000 boys' names in 2001.
"For boys, Jack has been the most popular boys’ name since 2003. Matthew remains as the second most popular name while James has climbed from fifth most popular in 2008 to share third place with Daniel in 2009.
"For girls, Katie entered the top ten most popular names in 2002, becoming the most popular name in 2004, where it has remained since then. Sophie and Grace remain the second and third most popular names respectively in 2009.
"Jake and Oliver are the only new boys’ names to enter the top 20 in 2009 both moving from rank 21 in 2008 to ranks 20 and 17 respectively in 2009. For girls Erin was the largest mover within the girls’ names top 20 in 2009 rising from rank 11 in 2008 to rank 5 in 2009, while Aimee moved from rank 30 in 2008 to rank 20 in 2009," he said.
