Scotland’s most popular baby names of 2023 revealed as favourite falls out of top 3 for first time in 28 years
BABY names in Scotland have gone Hollywood – with names inspired by Barbie and Oppenheimer proving to be box office in 2023.
Parents were keen to name their kids after Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy who starred in the blockbuster movies – with Margot up 57 places on the list and Cillian jumping 24 spots.
Luca, also the title of an animated Pixar flick from 2021, became the most popular boys name in the country for the first time, pushing Noah to second and Leo third.
While Isla set the pace for girls and took pole position for the first time since 2020 – as it displaced Olivia into the runner-up position followed by Freya.
National Records of Scotland (NRS) statistician Phillipa Haxton said: “It’s impossible to predict each year so it’s interesting to see Luca at the top of the table.
“It’s possible Pixar has influenced parents but there might be other factors too.
“One of the other things we saw was an increase in Cillian’s and Margot’s after Oppenheimer and Barbie.
“We can see patterns that coincide with certain films being released.”
Another big change was Jack falling out of top three for the first time since 1996 and landing in fourth place.
Last year also set a new record for the number of different names for boys and girls as parents got creative to help their little ones stand out from the crowd.
Phillippa added: “We’re seeing some of the names considered more traditional falling further down the table.
“But we do see names come in and out of fashion, so it may be that they’re more popular again in future years.
“It suggests parents are going the extra mile to choose a more unusual name.
“Maybe that’s why we see names fall out of popularity then come back in as parents see they’re used less.”
Though it’s hard to predict which names will appear on the list next year, Phillippa sees the TV and movie trend continuing.
She guessed: “I wonder with the popularity of Netflix show One Day whether we will see a lot of Dexters.”