THE most popular first names for babies born in Scotland in 2023 have been revealed.
For boys, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) said that Luca had leapfrogged Noah to top the chart for the first time.
A total of 344 baby boys were named Luca in 2023, while Leo came in third.
Jack was in fourth place, the first time since 1996 that it was not among the top three most popular names.
For baby girls, Isla was the most popular name in 2023. It overtook Olivia, and Freya came in third.
The NRS also said that the number of unique names, given to only one child in the year, has hit an all-time high.
Banksy, Daemon, Jihad, Boy, Demigod, Howl, and Shady some of the 2362 unique names chosen for boys.
And among the 2983 unique names given to girls were Alloy, Costly, Pasty, Wynter-J, La, and Na.
The top ten names for boys in Scotland in 2023
- Luca
- Noah
- Leo
- Jack
- Harris
- Rory
- Oliver
- Theo
- Archie
- Finlay
The top ten names for girls in Scotland in 2023
- Isla
- Olivia
- Freya
- Emily
- Amelia
- Ella
- Charlotte
- Millie
- Grace
- Ava
The NRS said that some of the names rising in use are associated with movies.
Luca is now Scotland’s top name for baby boys, rising from 43rd in the charts before the release of the 2021 Pixar movie of the same name.
Meanwhile the names of actors in the summer blockbuster movies Oppenheimer and Barbie further increased in popularity, with Cillian up 24 to 99th in the list and Margot up 57 places to 106th.
New entrants in the top 100 names include Oakley, which rose 64 places to 87th and Mabel, which leapt 102 places to joint 93rd.
NRS statistician Phillipa Haxton said: “National Records of Scotland is pleased to welcome all of Scotland’s bundles of joy in 2023.
“There are more names in use today than there were in previous generations.
“The number of different names for boys reached a new all-time high in 2023, as did the number of unique names given to only one child in the year.
“The same pattern was observed for girls’ names, and the variety of names given to girls is still greater than for boys.”
You can find the full list of baby names on the NRS website.
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