This year, “admin” is the most common password in Ireland, replacing last year’s top choice, “123456”
NordPass, together with NordStellar, has released the seventh edition of its annual Top 200 Most Common Passwords research. In addition to identifying the most popular passwords globally and in 44 countries, this year, the research focused on understanding how the passwords used by different generations vary.
Most common passwords in Ireland
Below are the top 20 most common passwords in Ireland.
1. admin
2. Abdel123
3. westwood
4. ismellpennys
5. abdel123
6. spinners
7. redmondp1
8. 123456
9. empoleon
10. Unicornn
11. Seventeen17
12. password
13. lamus1
14. leavemealone
15. mybaby01
16. chapter1
17. nightline000001
18 jungo777
19. flowers1
20. 102030
Although cybersecurity experts keep repeating that simple passwords are extremely easy to guess using a dictionary and brute-force attacks, Irish seem to ignore the warnings. Words, number combinations, and common keyboard patterns dominate Ireland’s top 20 list.
This year, “admin” is the most common password in Ireland, replacing last year’s top choice, “123456,” while “Abdel123” ranks second. Last year’s choice “123456” dropped to eighth position in the new iteration of study.
Researchers also point out that sports-related terms (e.g., “football,” “baseball” ) are being replaced by swear words in some countries.
Global trends
Globally, “123456” is the most common password, followed by “admin” in second place, and “12345678” in third — another simple numeric sequence. Such weak patterns, ranging from “12345” to “1234567890,” along with common weak passwords like “qwerty123,” dominate top 20 lists across many countries.
Compared to last year, researchers observed a significant increase in the use of special characters in passwords. This year, 32 passwords on the global list include them, a notable rise from just six last year. The most common special character in passwords is “@,” and most of the passwords are unfortunately no more complicated than “P@ssw0rd,” “Admin@123,” or “Abcd@1234.”
The word “password” remains one of the most popular passwords worldwide. It’s used both in English form and in local languages in nearly every country we studied — from Slovak “heslo” and Finnish “salasana” to French “motdepasse” and Spanish “contraseña.”
“Generally speaking, despite all efforts in cybersecurity education and digital awareness over the years, data reveals only minor improvements in password hygiene. The world is slowly moving towards passkeys — a new passwordless authentication method based on biometric data — but in the interim, until passkeys become ubiquitous, strong passwords are very important. Especially since around 80% of data breaches are caused by compromised, weak, and reused passwords, and criminals intensify their attacks till they can,” says Karolis Arbaciauskas, head of product at NordPass.
The myth of the “Digital Native”
Research shows that for Digital Natives — those who grew up immersed in the online world — extensive exposure to technology doesn’t automatically translate into a strong understanding of fundamental password security practices or the severe risks associated with poor choices.
“The password habits of 18-year-olds are similar to those of 80-year-olds. Number combinations, such as ‘12345’ and ‘123456,’ are in the top spots across all age groups. The biggest difference is that older generations are more likely to use names in their passwords,” says Arbaciauskas.
Research reveals that Generations Z and Y rarely use names in their passwords, preferring combinations like “1234567890” and “skibidi” instead. The use of names in passwords becomes more prevalent starting with Generation X, peaking among Baby Boomers.
Among Generation X, the most popular name used as a password is “Veronica.” For Baby Boomers, it’s “Maria,” and for the Silent Generation, it’s “Susana.”
