Boy, Banksy, Costly and Pasty among unique names given to babies last year

Laura Paterson, PA Scotland

Banksy, Daemon and Jihad were among the names given to babies in Scotland last year, data shows.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) said they were among a record high number of names given to only one child in 2023, with Boy, Demigod, Howl and Shady some of the other 2,362 unique names chosen for boys.

Among the 2,983 unique names given to girls were Alloy, Costly, Pasty, Wynter-J, La and Na.

Luca became the most popular baby boy name in Scotland for the first time, pushing Noah into second place.

Isla is back in the top spot for girls, for the first time since 2020, with 274 newborns given the name, overtaking Olivia.

  1. Luca

  2. Noah

  3. Leo

  4. Jack

  5. Harris

  6. Rory

  7. Oliver

  8. Theo

  9. Archie

  10. Finlay

NRS statistician Phillipa Haxton said: “There are more names in use today than there were in previous generations.

“The number of different names for boys reached a new all-time high in 2023, as did the number of unique names given to only one child in the year.

“The same pattern was observed for girls’ names, and the variety of names given to girls is still greater than for boys.”

Luca climbed four places to take the top spot, with 344 boys given the name.

Leo remains third, while Jack has dropped out of the top three names for boys for the first time since 1996, falling to fourth place, and Harris is fifth.

For girls, Freya is still the third most common name, followed by Emily and Amelia.

  1. Isla

  2. Olivia

  3. Freya

  4. Emily

  5. Amelia

  6. Ella

  7. Charlotte

  8. Millie

  9. Grace

  10. Ava

The NRS suggests the Pixar film Luca could be behind the name’s rise as it was the 43rd most popular boys’ name in Scotland prior to the film’s release in 2021.

Movie magic is also thought to be behind the rise in names associated with last summer’s blockbuster releases, as Cillian is up 24 places to 99 after Cillian Murphy starred in Oppenheimer, while Margot has risen 57 places to 106th following Margot Robbie’s lead role in the Barbie film.

New entrants in the top 100 names include Oakley, which rose 64 places to 87th, and Mabel, which jumped 102 places to joint 93rd.

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