The top baby names in Scotland for 2023 have been released, with Luca and Isla topping the list.
We’ve looked at the most popular baby names in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles to see how things look more locally.
Today’s publication from National Records of Scotland reveals all of the names given to babies in Scotland last year in 2023.
Here are the latest baby name trends in the area and how the most popular names compare to the previous year’s top names.
Council area baby name statistics are only available for names that were registered to three or more babies. Councils which had limited releases were Orkney and Shetland.
Top baby names 2023
Aberdeen
In 2023, the top name for boys in Aberdeen was Noah. Meanwhile for girls, it was both Charlotte and Isla.
Other popular names included Alexander and Jack for boys, and Freya and Maisie for girls.
In 2022, the top names for boys were Leo, James, Archie and Noah.
The same year, the top names for girls were Olivia, Ella, Millie and Charlotte.
Aberdeenshire
Last year’s top names for boys in Aberdeenshire was James.
The top name for girls was Freya.
Many parents also opted for Finlay and Brodie for boys, and Emily and Isla for girls.
Aberdeenshire’s top names for boys in 2022 was Brodie, Harris and Archie.
For girls, it was Isla, Olivia and Lucy.
Moray
In 2023, new Moray parents’ most popular choice for baby boys was joint between six different names- Finn, Logan, Luca, Noah, Oliver and Sonny.
Meanwhile for girls, they opted for Isla.
Other popular options were Hamish, James, Kai, Rory and William for boys and Charlotte and Isabella for girls.
In 2022, the top names were Brodie, James, Luca and Archie for boys.
For girls, it was Ava, Lily, Lara, Ivy and Emily.
Highlands
Parents in the Highlands chose to name their baby boys Archie in 2023.
For baby girls, the top choice was Ella.
Harris was also a top choice for new parents, as was Isla.
The top names in 2022 for boys in the Highlands were Angus, Archie and Charlie.
The same year, the top names for girls were Isla, Millie, Freya, Elsie and Amelia.
Orkney
In Orkney, the most popular names given to babies born in 2023 were Archie and Finn.
Danny was the other name given to a few baby boys.
The NRS do not release data when there is less than three births who share a name- so no baby girl names have been given this year.
In 2022, the top names for boys were Tommy, Jack, David and James.
There was no top names for girls given due to small numbers of births.
Shetland
In Shetland, the most popular names parents gave to their children in 2023 were James and Leo.
Due to small numbers of births there were no baby girl names released.
In 2022, the top name for boys was Theo. Willum, Magnus, Callum, Arthur and Logan were all tied for seconds spot.
There was no top names for girls given due to small numbers of births.
Western Isles
In the Western Isles, the top name for baby boys last year was James.
For girls it was Isla.
Other popular names for boys were Daniel and Lachlan, while for girls it was Lucy.
The year before in 2022, the most popular names for a baby boy was tied between Finlay, Noah and Leo.
Among girls it was tied between Annie, Freya and Ella.
You can see more from our baby names series here.
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