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7 months ago
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As many new parents will know, choosing a name for their baby can prove a challenging process.
But rather than sticking with convention, more parents than ever last year opted for something unique for their child.
Banksy, Fanta, Nirvana, Dream, Aladdin and even Jihad were among the names given to only one baby born last year.
Experts at the National Records of Scotland (NRS) yesterday revealed that 2023 was a record year for one-off monikers.
The latest data also shows lots of names popular in the past have now fallen out of favour.
No babies were named Karen, Susan, Barbara or Roger, and there was only one Tracy and a single Keith.
Disney film Luca is thought to be behind the rise in the name’s popularity
Aladdin was among the names given to only one baby born last year
NRS researcher Phillipa Haxton said: ‘We are seeing more traditional names fall down the table. There are now more names in use than in previous generations.
‘The number of different names for boys hit an all-time high in 2023, as did the number of unique names given to only one child.
‘The same pattern was observed for girls’ names, and the variety of names given to girls is still greater than for boys.
‘We see with middle names that people tend to go for a more traditional name.
‘It could be that an unusual first name and a traditional middle name is a way of parents being able to express their creativity but also keep a name in the family.’
The most popular name for girls last year was Isla while Luca was the top choice for boys.
The name Luca was given to 344 boys, while Noah – the most popular name in 2022 – dropped to second place and Leo was third.
Jack fell out of the top three for the first time since 1996 – while for girls, Isla was the choice of 274 parents, with Olivia in second place and Freya in third.
Rose and James were the most popular middle names.
Hollywood provided inspiration for many parents, as the Disney film Luca is thought to be behind the rise in the name’s popularity.
Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy helped make Cillian the 99th most common choice. The calendar also spurred a flurry of names, with 20 Aprils, 11 Augusts, nine Sundays, an October and a Thursday.
Place names featured heavily, with girls called California, Devon, Paisley, Alaska, Paris and Arizona. Two boys were named Oslo.
From the natural world, one boy was named Wolf, five were called Bear, 35 were named River and there were 20 Munros.
Some parents picked a musical theme with Bowie, Cobain and Adele cropping up, while famous footballers inspired the likes of Zidane, Larsson and Tierney.
Zoe McKibbin and her partner Daniel McCance named their daughter Arizona-Jane.
Ms McKibbin, 31, from Glasgow, said she picked the name because she spent part of her childhood in Arizona, while Jane is her middle name and her mother’s name.
She said: ‘I like her having a unique name. I’m a teacher so I see a lot of names. She suits the name but we get a lot of questions about whether we’ll name the next one Phoenix or New York.’
English (US)