Emily was the most popular name for baby girls in Ireland last year, according to the Passport Service.

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

The Department of Foreign Affairs says 17,752 passports were issued to children born in 2016 - with 116 going to girls named Emily and 158 to boys named James.

An estimated 740,000 passports were issued during the year, which was a new record for any year to date.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “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," he added.

He also advised anyone who needs to renew their passport to consider doing so early to avoid the summer rush.