Last year, 385 parents agreed.

New figures released by the CSO have found that Emily was the 11th most popular name in the country in 2005. And while outranked by such stalwarts as Sarah, Katie, Amy, Aoife and Ciara, its sister name, Emma, triumphed as top girl's name for the third year in a row.

But while old reliables are prominent at the very top of the girl's list, more and more exotic names are creeping into Irish society as Ruby, Kayla, Robyn and Amber all battled for places amongst last year's top 100. In boys' names, Calum, Leo and Oscar all entered the top 100 for the first time.

Upstairs in Holles Street, newly born India Star Ni Cheallaigh gazes up at her grandmother. "We didn't want anything too common; I mean popular, " explains her mother Deirdre, from Dun Laoghaire, who decided on Star one night when she was looking at the night sky. Neither name made it into the top 100 last year. "I was hoping for Mary instead of Star, " confesses India's grandmother. "But maybe India Star Mary?"

In another ward, Josh Geordie Doyle Curtis is sleeping soundly as his mother Agnes looks on. Last year, boys' names remained virtually unchanged, with Jack, Sean, Conor, Adam and James holding the top rankings since 1998. Josh has become more and more popular since 2000 and is now the 56th most popular boy's name in the country.

"I always liked Josh and that was the only boy's name I had picked but I was worried in case he didn't look like a Josh, " says Agnes. "His little brother is called Ben and it suited him straight away, I'm glad it does with Josh too."