Most popular boys’ names in Ireland, 1981
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 | 2,071 |
| 2 | David | 1,633 |
| 3 | Michael | 1,320 |
| 4 | Patrick | 1,217 |
| 5 | Paul | 1,110 |
| 6 | James | 1,098 |
| 7 | Brian | 907 |
| 8 | Stephen | 826 |
| 9 | Thomas | 823 |
| 10 | Mark | 789 |
| 11 | Alan | 785 |
| 12 | Robert | 658 |
| 13 | Kevin | 590 |
| 14 | Shane | 538 |
| 15 | Martin | 501 |
| 16 | William | 487 |
| 17 | Anthony | 486 |
| 18 | Jonathan | 476 |
| 19 | Peter | 467 |
| 20 | Sean | 445 |
| 21 | Daniel | 431 |
| 22 | Joseph | 426 |
| 23 | Keith | 411 |
| 24 | Niall | 410 |
| 25 | Gerard | 408 |