Scotland — the country that covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain (the largest island in Europe) — shares a border with only England.
Last year, Scotland welcomed nearly 47,000 babies. What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.
Here are Scotland’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2022:
Girl Names
- Olivia, 309 baby girls
- Isla, 296
- Freya, 294
- Millie, 280
- Emily, 244
- Amelia, 234
- Grace, 233 (tie)
- Sophie, 233 (tie)
- Ava, 226 (tie)
- Ella, 226 (tie)
- Lily, 218
- Charlotte, 214
- Sophia, 184
- Aria, 177
- Harper, 169 (tie)
- Ivy, 169 (tie)
- Evie, 161
- Lucy, 158
- Mia, 156
- Rosie, 154
- Sofia, 149
- Eilidh, 146
- Orla, 144
- Maisie, 143
- Daisy, 134 (tie)
- Willow, 134 (tie)
- Jessica, 129
- Ruby, 127
- Ellie, 122
- Anna, 119 (tie)
- Bonnie, 119 (tie)
- Elsie, 116
- Esme, 115
- Maya, 113 (tie)
- Sienna, 113 (tie)
- Mila, 106
- Robyn, 105
- Isabella, 104
- Georgia, 101 (tie)
- Hannah, 101 (tie)
- Poppy, 100
- Eva, 98
- Ayla, 96
- Layla, 95
- Callie, 94 (tie)
- Skye, 94 (tie)
- Hallie, 93
- Holly, 92
- Maeve, 90
- Emma, 89
Boy Names
- Noah, 373 baby boys
- Jack, 342
- Leo, 310
- Harris, 274
- Luca, 273
- Oliver, 261
- Rory, 251
- Archie, 246
- Alfie, 243 (3-way tie)
- James, 243 (3-way tie)
- Theo, 243 (3-way tie)
- Finlay, 234 (tie)
- Lewis, 234 (tie)
- Alexander, 230
- Charlie, 226
- Brodie, 221
- Lucas, 203
- Finn, 201
- Logan, 195
- Thomas, 183
- Mason, 177
- Oscar, 164
- Max, 160 (tie)
- Muhammad, 160 (tie)
- Tommy, 159
- Freddie, 156
- Jacob, 147
- Cameron, 145
- Jude, 143
- Arthur, 140
- Daniel, 137
- Kai, 135
- Harry, 132
- Blake, 131
- Ollie, 129
- Harrison, 122 (3-way tie)
- Hunter, 122 (3-way tie)
- Roman, 122 (3-way tie)
- Adam, 118
- William, 117
- Arlo, 116
- Caleb, 115
- Reuben, 110
- Ethan, 105 (tie)
- Liam, 105 (tie)
- George, 103
- Sonny, 102
- Nathan, 101
- Angus, 100 (3-way tie)
- Jamie, 100 (3-way tie)
- Theodore, 100 (3-way tie)
The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Nova, Maeva, Annie, and Nina.
The fastest-rising names in the boys’ top 100 were Teddy, Parker, Hudson, and Theodore.
Here are some of the names from lower down on the list:
- 15 boys were named Reo, which is the first name of Japanese soccer player Reo Hatate, who joined Glasgow-based Celtic F.C. in early 2022. (Before this, the highest usage of Reo was 3 boys in a single year.)
- 14 girls were named Vaila, which is the name of one of the Shetland Islands.
- 7 girls were named Perrie, which is the first name of Perrie Edwards, member of the British girl-group Little Mix. (The name rose in usage during the 2010s, peaking in 2017 with 16 baby girls.)
- Fun fact: Perrie Edwards’ name was inspired by Steve Perry of Journey.
- Fun fact #2: Steve Perry’s father’s surname was originally Pereira. (Both of his parents immigrated from the Azores.)
- Fun fact: Perrie Edwards’ name was inspired by Steve Perry of Journey.
- 6 girls were named Sanna, which is the first name of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who assumed office in late 2019. (Before this, the highest usage of Sanna was 3 girls in a single year.)
- 5 boys were named Argyll, which is the name of a historical shire of Scotland.
- 2 girls were named Kinvara, which is the name of a village in Ireland.
Baby names that were bestowed just once in Scotland last year include…
| Unique Girl Names | Unique Boy Names |
| Athdara, Awilix, Bromwyn, Cadhla, Davilla, Ekklesia, Fillow, Fuchsia, Gigha, Hunter, Ianthe, Janada, Kyveli, Little, Mcgee, Newlana, Omnia, Phay, Qunoot, Rixt, Ryssa, Sunrise, Tianabelle, Uonaidh, Viosa, Xizhi, Yumo, Zerin | Aous, Bruar, Bruich, Cosanostra, Druie, Endrick, Fendt, Giric, Horatio, Iriah, Kenrong, Likhit, Moray, Normand, Ozan, Pacesetter, Perkunas, Qhawe, Ravine, Rubix, Scottie, Tearlach, Uisdean, Vania, Wudah, Xhambir, Yasiel, Zarrar |
Possible explanations/associations for a few of the above:
- Athdara – the Irish place name Áth Dara, meaning “ford of [the] oak.”
- Awilix – the Mayan moon goddess Awilix.
- Bruar – the Scottish place name and/or the Scottish clothing brand.
- Bruich – the Scottish word bruich, meaning “cooked, boiled” and “ruddy-faced” (among other things).
- Cadhla – the Irish word cadhla, meaning “beauty.”
- Cosanostra – the Italian phrase cosa nostra, meaning “our thing, our affair.” Cosa Nostra is another name for the Sicilian Mafia.
- Gigha – the Scottish island of Gigha (pronounced GHEE-ah).
- Giric – the 9th-century Pictish king Giric mac Dúngail.
- Kyveli – the modern Greek form of Cybele.
- Likhit – the Nepali word likhit, meaning “written, textual.”
- Moray – the historical province of Scotland.
- Perkunas – the Lithuanian thunder god Perkunas.
- Qhawe – the Xhosa and Zulu word qhawe, meaning “hero.”
- Rubix – the Rubik’s cube, named after its Hungarian creator, Erno Rubik.
- Tearlach – the Scottish name Teàrlach, which comes from the Old Irish name Tairdelbach.
- Uisdean – the Scottish name Ùisdean, which comes from the Old Norse name Eysteinn.
Finally, here are Scotland’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
Sources: Babies’ First Names 2022 – NRS, Babies’ First Names 2022, Report – NRS (PDF), Trends in baby names 2022 (PDF), Almost three deaths for every two births registered in 2022 – NRS, Behind the Name, Wiktionary, Inside Perrie Edwards’ rise to fame – Mirror Online, Steve Perry – Wikipedia
Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)
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