According to National Records of Scotland there is no change in the most popular babies names in Scotland this year.
Jack and Olivia were the most popular first names for babies whose births were registered in 2019 and as we have already reported in previous years Jack has been the most popular boys’ name for 12 years in a row and Olivia is the top girls’ name for a fourth consecutive year.
In Edinburgh the number one choice last year, in 2018, was James closely followed by Alexander at number 2 and Oliver at number 3. At fourth equal Harris Jack and Leo, Rory at 7th and then Oscar, Thomas and Daniel tied for 8th place with Daniel, Finlay, Hamish, Lucas and Max all tied at number 10.
As for the girls registered in Edinburgh in 2018, the number one name was Isla with Olivia, Emily, Ella, Amelia, Sophie, Sophia, Ava, Charlotte, Lily and Mia in the top ten.
But back to this year and the overall Scottish figures :
Number two for boys is Oliver and number three is the same as before : James.
The name Charlie is up seven places to four, Harris ascended three places to number five, Noah was up three places at six, Lewis was down one place at seven, Leo dropped three places to eight, Rory rose one place to nine and Alfie was up six places at 10.
Charlie and Alfie are the only new names to get into the boys’ Top 10, but Alexander fell four places to number 11 and Logan dropped nine places to number 13.
In the boys’ Top 20: Theo is up 11 places at number 16 and Brodie is up seven places to 18.
Emily was again the second most popular name for girls. Isla and Sophie remained three and four respectively, Ella rose one place to number five with Amelia and Ava tying for number six. Grace stays the same at number eight, but Freya is more popular and climbed four places to number nine and Charlotte was up one place at number 10.
Freya and Charlotte were the only entrants to the girls’ Top 10. Aria dropped three places to 12 and Jessica slipped three places to 13. There were two entrants to the girls’ Top 20: Rosie (which rose seven places to 19th) and Millie (up one place to 20th).
The biggest climbers within the Top 50s were:
- Arthur (up 20 places to 26th);
- Willow (up 10 places to 24th);
- Daisy (up 11 places to 38th).
Particularly fast-rising entrants to the Top 50s were:
- George (up 13 places to joint 40th);
- Tommy (up 41 places to 48th);
- Andrew (up 13 places to joint 49th);
- Gracie (up 22 places to joint 39th);
- Hallie (up 15 places to 44th);
- Ayla (up 19 places to joint 47th).
Jack was the first name of 1.8% of boys and Olivia was the first name of 1.6% of girls.
NRS registered the births of 23,955 boys and 22,568 girls in the period covered by these figures.
Parents chose 3,370 different first forenames for boys and 4,095 different first forenames for girls.
In total, 2,138 boys and 2,668 girls were given first forenames that were unique. Per 100 babies, the numbers of different names and of unique names were well above the levels of 10 years and, much more so, 40 years ago.
For example, the percentage of boys with unique first forenames was greater this year (8.9%, in the period covered by these figures) than in the whole of 2009 (6.7%) and 1979 (2.3%).
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “It is always a pleasure to read the top baby names of the year, which give an insight into one of the most cherished moments in every parent’s life.
“While Olivia and Jack have shown their enduring appeal by retaining the top spot yet again, it’s interesting to see newer entries such as Ayla and Hallie in the Top 50.”
Alan Ferrier, Head of Demographic Statistics at National Records of Scotland, said:“Once again Jack and Olivia are the most popular first names in Scotland, however, there have been some fascinating changes in the top names for 2019.
“The fastest climbers in the boys’ Top 50 are Tommy and Arthur. Tommy is up 41 places to 48th and Arthur is up 20 places to 26th. For the girls, the big climbers are Gracie, Ayla and Hallie, who are now all in the Top 50.
“Jackson had the biggest fall in popularity for the boys names in the top 100, dropping 20 places to 79th, and for the girls it was Cara, down 31 places to joint 96th.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
