James and Grace most popular baby names in the district

When it comes to children’s names, the parents of the Fermanagh and Omagh District are largely keeping up with the North’s trends according to figures released recently by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC). 

The most popular boys name registered by FODC’s Registration Service in the past year was James, while Grace was the most popular girl’s name. Both names were also the most popular names given to newborns in the North in 2020/21. 

The information, supplied by the General Registry Office, demonstrated the return to more traditional names, particularly among the boys with James, Jack and Charlie featuring in the top 5 names locally and across the North. 

Indeed, when comparing the top five names for each gender locally with the wider North’s figures,  four out of the top five names for both genders feature in the top five across the six counties. 

FODC’s Registration Service is responsible for the registration of life events in the Fermanagh and Omagh District, including the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships. The Registration Service team also perform civil marriages and partnerships at Council offices and at approved venues. 

Over the past year the number of births registered in the district was up slightly on the 2019/20 figure as was the number of deaths registered in the district. The number of marriages registered in the year 2020/21 saw a significant drop from the previous year, undoubtedly impacted by the pandemic and restrictions in place from March to May 2020. 

The first outdoor wedding to take place in the district since the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions took place at Grange Park, Omagh on 1 June 2020. This was the first wedding to ever take place in the award-winning Council public park with a total of six people in attendance, in line with restrictions at the time.