Sneak Peek: Scotland’s Top Baby Names of 2019
The National Records of Scotland (NRS) has just released its provisional baby name data for 2019! As usual, it’s a gloriously eclectic mix of fashionable British favorites and gorgeous Gaelic gems.
What’s Hot With the Scots?
Topping the Scottish charts for the fourth year running are contemporary classics Olivia and Jack, which have long been popular throughout the British Isles.
Rounding out the Top 10 for each sex are Emily, Isla, Sophie, Ella, Amelia and Ava (tied), Grace, Freya, Charlotte and Ellie for girls, and Oliver, James, Charlie, Harris, Noah, Lewis, Leo, Rory and Alfie for boys.
Fresh new entrants to the Top 20 in 2019 were Theo and Brodie for boys (replacing Finlay and Jacob) and Rosie and Millie for girls (replacing Eilidh and Evie).
Ones To Watch In 2020
There were twenty new entrants into the Scottish Top 100 in 2019: Carson, Cody, Ellis, Louie, Roman, Sonny and Theodore on the boys’ side, and Abbie, Ailsa, Aoife, Elizabeth, Eve, Evelyn, Harley, Lottie, Lucie, Mirren, Myla, Nova and Scarlett on the girls’.
The highest climbers of the year (in terms of popularity ranking) were: Theodore (a Nameberry favorite, up 54 spots), Sonny (+48), Louie (+47), Tommy (+41) and Roman (+26) for boys, and Lucie (+76), Mirren (+37) Harley and Lottie (+34), Ailsa (+30), and Eve and Aoife (+28) for girls.
Baby Name Trends: Scottish Style
Unique Names on the Rise
The word “unique” has become something of a cliche when it comes to baby names, but the NRS uses it in its literal sense: in 2019, almost 9% of boys and almost 12% of girls born in Scotland were given a name used just once that year (compared to about 4% and 6.5% two decades ago).
Conversely, the number of Scottish boys and girls given a name in the Top 10 in 2019 was a little over 12% (compared to around 21% two decades ago).
Authentic Scottish Picks
The Top 100 is peppered with traditional Scottish baby names not encountered nearly so frequently south of the border.
Popular categories for boys include centuries-old clan names like Blair, Brodie, Cameron, Fraser, Logan and Murray, Scots Gaelic gems like Callum, Finlay, Hamish and Ruaridh, as well as names inspired by Scotland’s highlands and islands, like Angus, Arran, Harris, Innes and Lewis.
For girls, sweet Scottish diminutives ending in -ie are popular, like Elsie, Bonnie, Katie and Maisie, as well as gorgeous Gaelic picks like Eilidh, Orla and Mirren, and Scottish island names like Ailsa, Cara, Iona, Isla and Skye.
Nicknames on the Birth Certificate
Sweet, simple short forms as full names are popular throughout Britain, but the Scots are even more fond of them than most.
The Top 50 alone includes Jack, Leo, Alfie, Max, Harry, Theo, Archie, Finn, Freddie, Ollie, Liam, Jamie and Tommy for boys, and Ellie, Mia, Rosie, Millie, Evie, Maisie, Gracie, Hallie, Molly and Katie for girls.
Strong Surname Names
In addition to the traditional clan names listed above, the Top 100 for boys also includes energetic -er ending surname names like Carter, Cooper and Hunter (plus Harper for girls), sturdy -son ending choices like Carson, Grayson, Harrison, Jackson and Mason, as well as other surname-style picks like Blake, Cole and Riley.
Top 100 Scottish Baby Names of 2019
Below is the full provisional list of the most popular baby names in Scotland in 2019.
This data is drawn from births registered up to the beginning of December, so rankings may change slightly when the full official statistics are released in March. Bolded names are those which do not appear in the most recent Top 100 for England & Wales (2018).
Boys
1. Jack2. Oliver3. James4. Charlie5. Harris6. Noah7. Lewis8. Leo9. Rory10. Alfie11. Alexander12. Max13. Logan14. Lucas15. Harry16. Theo17. Thomas18. Brodie19= Archie19= Finn21. Jacob22. Finlay23. Daniel24. Joshua25. Oscar26. Arthur27. Hunter28= Ethan28= Mason30. Harrison31. Freddie32. Ollie33. Adam34. Aaron35. William36. Jaxon37. Cameron38. Liam39. Jamie40= Callum40= George42= Matthew42= Muhammad44. Caleb45. Nathan46. Carter47. Blake48. Tommy49= Andrew49= Luke51= Angus51= Luca51= Riley54= Jude54= Samuel56= Cole56= Sonny58= Hamish58= Joseph60. Ryan61. Isaac62= David62= Louie64= Arran64= Blair66. Dylan67= Arlo67= Connor67= Robert67= Ruaridh71. Leon72. Michael73= Benjamin73= Kai73= Louis76. Theodore77. Reuben78. Cooper79. Jackson80. Owen81. John82= Fraser82= Innes84. Carson85= Elijah85= Murray87. Grayson88. Elliot89. Aiden90= Aidan90= Sam92= Ellis92= Henry94= Ben94= Cody96. Alex97. Callan98. Jax99. Gabriel100= Frankie100= Roman
Girls
1. Olivia2. Emily3. Isla4. Sophie5. Ella6= Amelia6= Ava8. Grace9. Freya10. Charlotte11. Ellie12. Aria13. Jessica14. Sophia15. Lucy16. Lily17. Harper18. Mia19. Rosie20. Millie21. Evie22. Eilidh23. Ruby24. Willow25. Anna26. Maisie27. Hannah28. Eva29. Emma30. Chloe31. Mila32= Ivy32= Orla34= Georgia34= Isabella36. Poppy37. Robyn38. Daisy39= Gracie39= Zara41= Holly41= Skye43. Esme44. Hallie45= Erin45= Sofia47= Ayla47= Molly49= Emilia49= Katie51. Layla52. Sienna53. Alice54. Niamh55. Amber56. Maya57= Ada57= Zoe59= Bella59= Bonnie61. Thea62= Luna62= Summer64= Callie64= Rose66= Abigail66= Hollie68. Hope69. Iona70= Elsie70= Leah72. Lexi73= Eve73= Violet75= Harley75= Scarlett77= Elizabeth77= Julia77= Myla80. Georgie81= Florence81= Imogen83= Cora83= Mirren85. Rowan86= Aurora86= Lucie86= Matilda89= Lilly89= Phoebe89= Sadie92= Brooke92= Evelyn92= Lola92= Lottie96= Ailsa96= Cara98= Abbie98= Aoife98= Maria98= Nova