Nicola Sturgeon is ‘most popular person’ among Scots

Nicola Sturgeon ranks as the 'most popular person' among Scots. Picture: Steven Scott Taylor

The analysis, carried out by YouGov on around 30,000 Scots, revealed that out of 5,000 famous faces, celebrities and public figures, Sturgeon is the most popular in the country.

According to YouGov the top 20, compiled using the ‘ratings’ thousands of Scottish members give to people and brands, is ranked using the ‘number of positive ratings for each individual, multiplied by the total number of ratings for each person, with the margin of error taken out.’

The method is designed to balance proportion of positive feelings towards each celebrity with their ‘reach’.

Andy Murray and Billy Connolly rank second and third, both with higher ratings for positivity than Ms Sturgeon but a far lower reach.

Sturgeon’s predecessor Alex Salmond is in fourth, just ahead of the Queen - who had a higher positivty rating than the former First Minister.

The remainder of the top 10 is made up of Kate Middleton; Stephen Fry; David Attenborough; Dara O’Briain and Prince Harry.

But there are just five Scots in the top 20, including Sturgeon, Salmond, Murray and Connolly, with comedian Frankie Boyle ranked at 14th - ahead of the likes of Judy Dench, Michael McIntyre and Jeremy Clarkson.

The list of the top 10 Scottish historical figures receiving the most positive reaction is topped by William Wallace, and also features Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin; Scots-born philanthropist Andrew Carnegie; first Labour Prime Minister of the UK Ramsay MacDonald and Robert the Bruce.

The final five places go to first Labour MP Keir Hardie; civil engineer and architect Thomas Telford, known for designing the Caledonian Canal; inventor and mechanical engineer James Watt; Edinburgh-born Irish republican James Connolly and Jo Grimond, leader of the Liberal Party between 1956 and 1967.