According to the National Records of Scotland (NRS), the most popular baby names in the country last year were Olivia and Jack.
Here are Scotland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:
Girl Names
- Olivia, 349 baby girls
- Emily, 318
- Isla, 317
- Freya, 270
- Ella, 259
- Amelia, 257
- Ava, 241
- Sophie, 238
- Grace, 235
- Millie, 216
- Lily, 205
- Sophia, 200
- Charlotte, 196
- Rosie, 190
- Aria, 183
- Evie, 181
- Maisie, 165
- Lucy, 164 (tie)
- Mia, 164 (tie)
- Eilidh, 160
- Ellie, 159 (3-way tie)
- Ivy, 159 (3-way tie)
- Orla, 159 (3-way tie)
- Jessica, 150
- Harper, 144
- Maya, 134 (tie)
- Willow, 134 (tie)
- Georgia, 126
- Daisy, 123 (tie)
- Sofia, 123 (tie)
- Mila, 122
- Isabella, 121 (tie)
- Ruby, 121 (tie)
- Hannah, 119
- Skye, 118
- Sienna, 116
- Molly, 113
- Hallie, 111
- Bonnie, 108 (tie)
- Poppy, 108 (tie)
- Eva, 106
- Esme, 104
- Anna, 102 (3-way tie)
- Ayla, 102 (3-way tie)
- Erin, 102 (3-way tie)
- Callie, 98
- Zara, 92
- Layla, 91
- Emma, 90 (tie)
- Robyn, 90 (tie)
Boy Names
- Jack, 382 baby boys
- Noah, 337
- Leo, 289
- Oliver, 284
- Harris, 273
- Finlay, 255
- Lewis, 254
- James, 252
- Rory, 247
- Alexander, 240
- Brodie, 236
- Alfie, 224
- Charlie, 220
- Theo, 219
- Archie, 217
- Lucas, 214
- Mason, 205
- Finn, 197
- Thomas, 193
- Freddie, 192
- Max, 190
- Logan, 187
- Harry, 181
- Jacob, 176
- Blake, 159 (tie)
- Luca, 159 (tie)
- Oscar, 157
- Jude, 155
- William, 146
- Caleb, 140
- Roman, 138
- Cameron, 136
- Jaxon, 133
- Adam, 131
- Joshua, 130
- Ollie, 129 (tie)
- Tommy, 129 (tie)
- Daniel, 125 (tie)
- Ethan, 125 (tie)
- Harrison, 124
- Luke, 122
- Arthur, 121
- Muhammad, 120
- Jamie, 118 (tie)
- Liam, 118 (tie)
- Reuben, 112
- Arlo, 110
- Grayson, 103 (3-way tie)
- Hunter, 103 (3-way tie)
- Kai, 103 (3-way tie)
The fastest-rising names in the girls’ top 100 were Lyla, Blake, and Rowan.
The fastest-rising names in the boys’ top 100 were Carson, Struan, and Myles.
Other names that have seen higher usage recently include Maeva (influenced by Made in Chelsea actress Maeva D’Ascanio) and Connell (influenced by Normal People character Connell Waldron).
And what about the unique names?
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.
Baby names bestowed just once in Scotland last year include…
| Unique Girl Names | Unique Boy Names |
| Arlo-Moon, Aquamarine, Boglarka, Bryar-Loch, Cleagh, Cocohuay, Dervla, Diadem, Ember-Willow, Estrid, Falluin, Floraidh, Ghillie, Gwenno, Hessa, Humna, Iolanthe, Ischia, Jahanara, Juaa, Ketaki, Knoxie, Linaz, Liola-Sky, Mharli-Mae, Myfanwy, Nardos, Nymeria, Ocean-Bleu, Otterly, Pannavee, Paris-Sarah, Quinnie, Ribhinn, Ruoyi, Salka, Stuti, Thyra, Tifa, Unsa, Velvetjane, Wilda, Xiylo, Ying, Zanna, Zarnish | Arziki, Athilan, Bligh, Bruar, Caladh, Ciurar, Domhnall, Doski, Eloim, Ezra’banx, Firth, Fury, Gilmar, Guyan, Hanzala, Harcus, Ieuan, Ivaylo, Jockie, Joris, Kairimui, Kallikrates, Linstrum, Lorenzo-Moon, Marric, Massinissa, Nakoah-Knox, Nimrod, Oputjo, Otter, Parnaj, Prokop, Quanders, Rascal, Rhue, Simanga, Somhairle, Torben, Trix, Uziah-Nova, Vakaris, Wrath, Xanthus, Yuveer, Zander-Blu, Zebedee |
Here are possible explanations/associations for some of the above:
- Diadem, a type of crown
- Ischia, an island near Naples
- Nymeria, a direwolf from Game of Thrones
- Ribhinn, a Scottish-Gaelic word (rìbhinn) meaning “maiden, girl”
- Tifa, a character from the Final Fantasy video games
- Kallikrates, a 5th-century BC Greek architect
- Masinissa, a 2nd-century BC Numidian king
- Somhairle, a 12th-century Norse-Gaelic king
Finally, here are Scotland’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.
Sources: Babies’ First Names 2021 – National Records of Scotland, Trends in baby names 2021 (PDF)
Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)
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