A medieval diminutive of John, Jack was the top name of the previous decade, ranking in first place five times.

It then spent two years in second place; behind Charlie, in 2011, and Patrick, last year.

But after featuring eight times in The Border Mail’s 431 birth notices for this year, it’s No.1 once again.

Harry and Oliver tied in second place with six mentions each, while last year’s winner Patrick was knocked down to third place, tying with William.

Girl’s names Grace and Lily have also made comebacks this year, featuring five times each in the birth notices.

Grace, one of the virtue names used in the 17th century by the Puritans, was No.1 in 2011, while Lily, derived from the name of the flower, was most popular in 2010 and 2008.

Another recent favourite, Chloe, came in second, selected four times.

Nine names — Ella, Elsie, Evie, Imogen, Isla, Lara, Mia, Pippa and Scarlett — tied in third for the girls, with three mentions each.

Albury’s Mitch Jones and Jess Kellahan agreed on the name Jack if their first born was a boy.

Their son Jack was born on March 12 this year.

“We just always knew if we had a boy he’d be called Jack,” Mr Jones said.

“I always liked the name — Jack Jones has a good ring to it.

“I didn’t think of it as a trend; I didn’t know it would be the most popular name of 2013.”

Meanwhile Yarrawonga footballer Xavier Leslie and his wife Kylie chose the name Lily for their first child, now aged six months, just two weeks before her birth.

“We were finding it hard to agree on a girl’s name,” Mr Leslie said.

“It was the only one we could agree on.

“We love it, it’s a fairly old-fashioned name.”

There were four sets of twins in the birth notices this year, including two pairs of girls, one pair of boys and one set of one each.

The heaviest boy weighed 4.6 kilograms, while the heaviest girl was 4.8 kilograms.