Scotland's most popular baby names for 2017 revealed

Alan Ferrier, head of demographic statistics at the National Records Of Scotland, with daughter Megan. Picture: Scott Loudon

Jack has once again topped the list as the most popular choice for male newborns this year, marking an incredible decade as number one north of the Border.

The name’s modern dominance puts it on a par with historically popular names such as David, which was the leading choice for boys from 1980-89.

Olivia was the most popular choice for baby girls in 2017 for the second year in succession, an annual report from the National Records for Scotland (NRS) revealed, while Emily claimed the runner-up position.

But there was more variety across the annual top 100 list of names.

Among the top first forenames for boys, Oliver climbed to second while James was down to third and Lewis remained in fourth place. Noah and Logan were fifth and sixth, Harris rose six places to seventh, Alexander and Leo remained eighth and ninth and Harry fell three places to tenth.

As for the most popular names for girls, Isla rose one place to third, and Sophie fell one place to fourth. Jessica rose two places to fifth, Amelia remained sixth, Ava fell two places to seventh, Ella remained eighth.

NRS registered the births of 25,384 boys and 23,935 girls in the period covered by these figures.

Parents chose 3,314 different first forenames for boys and 4,221 different first forenames for girls. In total, 2,063 boys and 2,767 girls were given first forenames that were unique.

The numbers of different names, and of unique names, were well above the levels of 10, 20 or 40 years ago.

The number of boys with unique first forenames was greater this year (2,063 in the period covered by these figures) than in the whole of 2007 (1,797), 1997 (1,126) or 1977 (761).

The NRS report notes that many “unique” names are achieved by varieties in spelling. It also adds that if Calum and Callum were considered one name, it would rise to 21st in the list of boys’ names.

Culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Naming your baby is such an important decision and it’s always fun to see the names parents around Scotland are choosing.

“This year’s figures show some names have an enduring appeal, with Jack and Olivia confirming themselves as the most popular across Scotland – Jack for the tenth year in a row and Olivia for the second.

“The trend for unique names remains far higher than it has been in previous decades, indicating that today’s parents are thinking long and hard before choosing names for their babies.”

The complete Top 100 of 2017 baby names in Scotland can be found at National Records Scotland.