Most popular boys’ names in Ireland, 1972
The official ranking as published, with the number of babies given each name. Names with the same count share a rank.
| Rank | Name | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John | 2,506 |
| 2 | Michael | 1,639 |
| 3 | Patrick | 1,523 |
| 4 | David | 1,253 |
| 5 | James | 1,128 |
| 6 | Paul | 1,061 |
| 7 | Thomas | 942 |
| 8 | Mark | 824 |
| 9 | Brian | 684 |
| 10 | William | 677 |
| 11 | Alan | 646 |
| 12 | Martin | 612 |
| 13 | Stephen | 593 |
| 14 | Anthony | 571 |
| 15 | Declan | 526 |
| 16 | Gerard | 503 |
| 17 | Joseph | 474 |
| 18 | Robert | 472 |
| 19 | Kevin | 462 |
| 20 | Peter | 447 |
| 21 | Edward | 349 |
| 22 | Derek | 346 |
| 23 | Brendan | 345 |
| 24 | Niall | 331 |
| 25 | Jason | 311 |