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Emily and James are top of the list for baby names

Emily and James are top of the list for baby names

Emily was the most popular name for baby girls in Ireland last year - for the SIXTH year in a row!

James was the favourite baby boy name -  a change from 2015, when Jack topped the list.

The full list of the most popular 200 boys and girls' names last year is on the Department of Foreign Affairs' website, dfa.ie.

The name Emily has proven undimmed in its popularity among Irish parents - it's held no.1 spot for baby girls since 2011.

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Jack, on the other hand, has been bumped down to second place after enjoying a whole nine years at the top of the list - James is now king of the heap for boys' names.

Last year's passport applications for infants show that while Irish-language names like Aoife and Finn continue to be popular, Ireland is now very much a multi-cultural society.

Muhammad and Freya were the highest new entries in 2016.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs says he's disappointed that his own name, Charlie, has slipped down to number 24 from last year's ranking of 11.

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But he says he takes comfort in the fact that his middle name, James, is the favourite for boys.

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