The most popular baby names in Scotland have been revealed – with Jack topping the list yet again but Olivia being ousted by Isla.
More parents chose the long-running favourites for their newborns in 2020 than any other name.
Jack has been the top choice for boys for 13 years running and after four years at the top Olivia has been pushed into second place by Isla, followed by Emily in third place.
In second and third places for boys were Noah and James.
The annual list of the most popular baby names in Scotland was released by the National Records of Scotland on Tuesday morning.
Where does your child’s name rank?
Local top 10 names
There were local variations in name choices.
Dundee parents had their own favourites. The city’s top choices were Alexander for boys and Ava for girls. Sharing second place for boys in Dundee were Muhammed and Theo, while Jack made it into third place with Reuben. For girls Sophie and Jessica were the second choice and Olivia third.
In Angus, Isla was also number one choice for girls but the most used name for boys was Harris. In second place for girls was Millie, while Olivia, Evie, Sophia and Grace shared the third spot. Second top for boys were Rory, Jack and Archie, and third equal were Logan and Thomas.
Most popular names in Fife were Jack and Olivia, followed by Noah and Thomas, and Sophie and Freya.
In Perth and Kinross Oliver and Charlotte headed the list. Taking second and third places were James and Brodie and Amelia and Ava.
Newcomers
A newcomer in the top 100 for girls is Maeve, making a massive leap of 130 places up to 86th place, and Ayda, the second highest climber in the girls’ top 100 list, rose 63 places to the 91st spot.
The biggest increases in the top 100 boys’ list were Roman, which jumped up 68 places to 33rd, and Finley, which rose 48 places to 88th.
Peaky Blinders
And the hit television show Peaky Blinders might be behind a doubling in the number of babies being called Tommy. Likewise singer Billie Eilish could have inspired a spike in popularity for her first name.
Last year also saw the most ever different names, continuing a long-running trend and making children less likely now to share a name with their classmates than their grandparents were.
Of the 23,968 girls registered in Scotland last year, there were 4,347 different names. Among the 22,387 boys registered, there were 3,375 different names.
Generation gap
Some names were more popular with older parents and others with younger mums and dads.
Julie Ramsay, vital events statistician, said: “We can see from the 2020 names lists that different generations of parents have different preferences for naming their babies.
“Isla, the most popular name for girls in 2020, was the most popular name with mothers aged 35 and over, but it only ranked seventh with mothers aged under 25.
“However, Olivia, the most popular girls name of 2019, was ranked first by younger mothers and sixth by older mothers.
“Jack, the most popular name for boys in 2020, was the second most popular name with mothers aged 35 and above, and only 17th with mothers aged under 25.
“James was the most popular name for boys with older mothers while Noah was ranked first for younger mothers.
Popular culture often affects how people name their babies.”
Julie Ramsay, vital events statistician
“Popular culture often affects how people name their babies. The name Billie rose in popularity by 79% in the past two years with 34 baby girls being given this name in 2020.
“In the same time, Google searches in the UK for Billie and Billie Eilish spiked, with the singer having her first number one single in the UK in early 2020.
“Tommy, a name occurring in the popular TV shows Peaky Blinders and Love Island, has doubled in popularity in the last two years, with 148 boys being given this name.
“Our data shows it is more popular with younger mothers than with older mothers.”
If you live in Dundee, Angus, Fife or Perthshire and had a baby in 2020 with one of the top 10 names, we’d love to feature them in The Courier. Email photos to schools@dctmedia.co.uk and we’ll publish as many as we can.