Five decades of data analysed by NRS
Noah and Olivia returned to the top of Scotland’s baby name charts in 2024, according to new figures from National Records of Scotland (NRS).
Noah had previously taken the top spot in 2022. Olivia’s return to number one marks her seventh time there, having stayed in the top three since 2008.
This year, NRS has also released the top names for the last five decades as the current records began in 1974.
David is the top boys’ name in the past half century with more than 40,000 babies given the name. Emma leads for girls with over 24,000.
The data shows how the names have changed across the years. The name of Scotland’s patron saint, Andrew, has been the third most popular across the past 50 years. However, it didn’t make it into the top 100 in 2024.
NRS Chief Executive Alison Byrne said:
“I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all the new babies on behalf of NRS. Noah and Olivia are the comeback kids, returning to the top of the charts.
“We had a record number of different boys’ names used in registrations in 2024.
“Some of those climbing quickly are Reggie, Myles and Callan for boys, while Eliza, Romy and Nora jumped up the rankings for girls. Muhammad also enters the top 10 for the first time, rising nine places to second in the boys’ list.
“It’s fascinating to look at the data for the past five decades and see the growing range of names in use. It is much easier now for a name to rise in the charts compared with previous generations. In 1974 more than 1,700 baby boys were called David, but 50 years on, Noah topped the chart with only 366.”
Some trends that appear to continue are the use of nature names like Ivy and Violet though NRS stresses it can’t say why a name has been chosen. Are their parents fans of gardening and the outdoors? Has the character Violet in A Series of Unfortunate Events books influenced some? Could these babies be inheriting names from the older generations in their own families?
Across the fifty years some names have remained popular in every decade like James, Thomas, George, Alexander, Anna and Emma.
Background
- National Records of Scotland (NRS) is responsible for producing statistics on Scotland’s population.
- The full publication Babies’ First Names 2024, including tables with local authority breakdowns and an interactive chart, can be viewed online.
- As of 2024, we have reviewed the baby names methodology and no longer release names given to fewer than three babies. This decision has been taken to protect the privacy of those with uncommon names to prevent the identification of individuals and the potential linkage of these data to other datasets. In addition, the exclusion of the names given to one or two babies is consistent with policies in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Our statistics are based on the exact spelling of the name given on the birth certificate. Many names have different spellings or variations, and these will be counted as separate names. Where a name includes an accent, these are ignored in our statistics and the name will be counted towards the version without any accents.
- Most common surnames in Scotland’s birth, marriage and death registers from 2024 were also published today and can be viewed online.
