JACK and Olivia were the most popular names given to babies born in Scotland last year, new figures have revealed.
There were 349 girls called Olivia registered in Scotland in 2021, with the name being the most popular in the country for only the second time, after overtaking Isla.
Jack was the most popular boys’ name for the 14th year in a row, with 382 infants given that as their first name.
The data, from National Records of Scotland (NRS), shows Noah and Leo were the second and third most picked names for boys, with 337 and 289 babies given these.
Emily was the second most popular choice for girls, with 318 infants given that name, putting it narrowly ahead of Isla, which was the name given to 317 newborns.
Lyla jumped up the charts, rising 56 places in the top 100 girls’ names to 74th, while Blake rose 46 places and Rowan was up 41 places to be joint 93rd.
Other girls names that rose by 20 places or more were Lara, Harlow, Penelope, Brooke, Sadie, Georgie, Callie, Phoebe, Skye and Heidi.
For boys the name Carson rose 42 places in the list, becoming the 83rd most popular choice in 2021, with Struan jumping 37 places and Myles up by 35.
Elijah, Callan, Hudson, Lachlan and Albie also rose by 20 places or more in last year’s list.
Details of the most popular names for both boys and girls were revealed by NRS after 23,241 girls and 24,541 boys were born in Scotland in 2021.
There were 4197 different first names given to girls and 3458 different first names given to boys, according to the data.
NRS also said celebrities had an impact on what youngsters were called – noting the name Connell had been “almost unheard of in Scotland until the BBC’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People”, with 27 babies given this name last year.
It added: “Maeva has risen in popularity since Maeva D’Ascanio appeared on Made In Chelsea.”
Pete Whitehouse, director of statistical services, at NRS said: “Beneath the headline figures, the long-term trend is for more names to be used each year, including some names only given to one baby in 2021.
“Almost 12% of baby girls were given a name that no other girl was registered with in 2021. Almost 9% of boys had unique names for births last year.
“Together with the growing range of names being used, this means it’s far less common for children to share their name with their classmates than it was for their parents or grandparents.”
The top 10 most popular girls names were Olivia (349), Emily (318), Isla (317), Freya (270), Ella (259), Amelia (257), Ava (241), Sophie (238), Grace (235) and Millie (216).
For boys, the top 10 names were Jack (382), Noah (337), Leo (289), Oliver (284), Harris (273), Finlay (255), Lewis (254), James (252), Rory (247), Alexander (240).
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