Experts believe that some traditional Irish first names could “disappear” within the next few years.
At a time when short names such as Emily, Ava and Noah are all the rage, specialists in Irish culture have voiced their concern about the future of some traditional Irish names. Some of them are currently falling into disuse, and have not been used for new births for 5 years.
Another fact is that first names used less than 100 years ago are also becoming less common. A rare occurrence for Ireland, which has always been deeply attached to its traditional first names.
Ancestry.ie has compared online birth records to measure the popularity of Irish first names over the last 100 years. The study determined which first names were potentially at risk of “disappearing”.
In 1917, for example, over 11,000 newborn Irish girls were given the name Mary. In 2017, only 64 girls were given the same first name.
Ditto for John, which was the most popular male first name in 1917, but in 2017 fell to 22nd place.
Another astonishing fact is that there are fewer and fewer Patrick’s, a name that has been very popular for centuries because of St. Patrick’s Day and its religious connotations.
A study of the Ancestry.ie website has isolated the most endangered first names. They include Doreen, Cecil, Wallace, Reginald, Ethel, Sheila, Garrett, Norman and Herbert.
Gaelic-sounding first names also seem to be less and less in demand.
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