They say it takes a village to raise a baby, but what about naming them?
While some parents opted for nature names like Fox and Forest, others took inspiration from water- calling their babies Ocean and River.
But our analysis shows that inspiration in 2024 can come from as far back as ancient Greece to the most current pop IT girls.
The National Records of Scotland has released its latest baby name data today, covering the names given to newborns in 2024.
This year, only names given to three or more babies in Scotland have been published.
We’ve looked through the lists to look at some fun trends for naming babies in the past year, and how they might have been influenced by pop culture.
You can view the full list for 2024 boys names here. Use the search box to look up any names you’re interested in.
The full list for baby girls born in 2024 is below.
Topping the charts in 2024
Noah and Oliva topped the charts as the most popular names given to little ones in the country this year.
It’s the second time Noah has been in the number one spot, with the last time in 2022. It’s also been a top three name since 2020.
Olivia has been in the number one spot on the top baby girls name list in Scotland seven times now.
It’s been in either first or second place every year since 2016. You can see how the most popular names for baby boys have changed in Scotland below. Noah took its top spot back from Luca which got only a year in the spotlight before dropping to fifth in 2024.
Since 2020, Olivia has been fighting it out with Isla for the top girls name in Scotland. View how the most popular names have changed below.
People continue to name their babies after pop culture icons
Film, TV and music continue to be huge sources of inspiration for Scottish parents looking for a unique moniker for their babies.
2024 was a huge year for pop music. From a Brat Summer to unavoidable earworms about Espresso, the likes of Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan dominated the scene.
While there was no baby Chappell, many other female pop stars could have had an impact on naming trends in Scotland.
Overall, Billie, used specifically for girls, was the most popular name but Dua, as in the New Rules singer Dua Lipa, and Sabrina have both seen a slight year-on-year surge.
But despite many enjoying a Brat Summer, the name Charli only rose from four to five in 2024.
Media from over a decade ago might not be your first port of call when looking for a baby name.
But older films and books continue to inspire new parents.
Three babies in 2024 were given the name Renesmee – popularised by Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. It’s a mash up between two of the characters, Renee and Esme’s names.
The books were published between 2005 and 2008, while the films came out between 2008 and 2012.
However the series has seen a resurgence in popularity in the past few years, particularly on social media.
While other characters have more traditional names, you can see the surge in popularity following the release of the books, but particularly while the movies came out, and the names continue to be popular today.
But baby name inspiration is all around us
Movies, music and films aren’t the only thing that might influence a parent’s decision on what to name their babies though.
One name that’s risen in the ranks this year is Elon – likely inspired by South African businessman Elon Musk.
His name hasn’t seen much popularity in Scotland up to this point, but three babies were christened Elon in 2024.
Prior to 2024 there were five Elons, one born each year in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021.
The businessman has been hitting the headlines more and more in the past few years, most recently for his involvement in Donald Trump’s political office.
Meanwhile, some people may have reached further into the past for their baby name.
Year after year, old mythological gods have seemed to serve as inspiration for modern Scottish babies.
We analysed popular influences from both Norse and Greek mythology.
Overall, the king of Asgard or Odin seemed to reign victorious over the god inspired names.
Freyja, the Old Norse spelling for the goddess of love, also surpasses the Greek god counterparts.
The rise and fall of top names
But what about the names that used to be popular?
We took a look at all names which had previously been given to 100+ babies, but have since fallen out of fashion.
While in 2023 Graeme, Dale and Kelly all hit zero for the first time, this year only one name was not used on the list.
However, for the first time the National Records of Scotland has omitted any names used less than three times.
So there may still be a Colin out there, but it is a long way from the 1974 peak with 634 baby boys.
But while some names may be falling out of fashion, others are soaring in popularity.
We analysed which names had been given to more than 100 babies for the first time in 2024.
Maeve has skyrocketed for girls, rising from just 19 in 2019 to 129 five years later – that is a 578.9% increase.
More boys made our trend list with two names being used for over 100 babies – Myles and Callan.
If you have not had enough of baby names trends, we have analysed 50 years of data.
Or if you are interested in specifically Tayside and Fife data, find our breakdown of top names by council area.
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