merrion street

• Emily and James the most popular names 
• Minister expresses concern lower ranking of the name Charlie

Based on passport applications for infants, James was the most popular baby boy name in 2016 and Emily was the most popular baby girl name.

Welcoming the new passport holders, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, today said:
“Of the 17,752 passports issued to children born in 2016, 116 went to girls named Emily and 158 to boys named James.  It is however, disappointing to see that that the name Charlie has dropped down to number 24 from last year’s rank of 11. We will have to see what can be done about that! I take some comfort in the fact that my middle name – James – topped the poll of the boys’ names!
“The full list of the most popular 200 names is available on my Department's website www.dfa.ie .
“The list of most popular names reflects the continued overall popularity of Irish-language names, such as Aoife and Finn. It is interesting, however, to look back to 1911, just five years before the Easter rising, when such names hardly registered at all, with John and Mary being the most popular baby names.
“The 2016 figures also highlight that Ireland is nowadays very much a multicultural society, with Freya and Muhammad the highest new entries.
“No- doubt many of these new passport holders will be going on holiday with their proud parents and families in 2017. I would like to take this opportunity to remind Irish people to check the validity of their passports and those of their families, and to consider renewing now, ahead of the summer rush.  Special requirements apply to children’s passports.  
“In 2016, we expect to issue some 740,000 passports by year’s end, a new record for the number of passports issued in any year to date and 2017 promises to be another busy year, both on the baby-making and passports-issuing fronts!”
Details on how to apply for a passport can be found on the Department’s website, www.dfa.ie, which also has a passport renewal reminder service, and details on how to apply for a passport at short notice.

 Note to Editors:

• Full passport statistics for 2016 will be available on our website in early January. 
• A guide to How to Apply for a Passport, which takes Irish citizens through each step of their passport application and answers the most frequently asked questions, is available at https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/how-to-apply-for-a-passport/
• On the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, you can also access a Passport reminder service and aPassport Tracking service to allow customers to track the status of their application.
• Applicants travelling in less than 15 working days should make an appointment to submit their application in the Passport Office in Dublin or Cork.
• Applicants travelling in more than 15 working days should submit their application via Passport Express available at all An Post offices.