Baby names: Disney film sees baby name crowned the most popular in Scotland for the first time

Luca and Isla were the most popular boys’ and girls’ names in Scotland in 2023

Luca and Isla have been crowned the top baby names in Scotland for 2023.

Scots’ love of Disney has seen the name Luca become the most popular boys’ name of 2023, it has been revealed, as it emerged Boy, Banksy, Costly, Pasty and Jihad were among the more unusual choices by parents.

The National Records of Scotland has released its new baby name statistics, which show Luca and Isla were the most popular baby names of the last year.

Ever since the 2021 Disney Pixar film of the same name, the name Luca has climbed from 43rd in the charts to be crowned the most popular Scottish baby name for the very first time.

A total of 344 baby boys were given this name in 2023, pushing last year’s most popular choice, Noah, into second place.

Leo remains the third most popular choice for baby boys.

Meanwhile the name Jack has dropped out of the top three boys’ names for the first time since 1996, falling to fourth place.

Turning to the girls, Isla returns to the top slot for the first time since 2020.

This overtakes Olivia, which has been the most popular girls’ name for a number of years, with Freya remaining in third place.

Phillipa Haxton, statistician with the National Records of Scotland, said: “National Records of Scotland is pleased to welcome all of Scotland’s bundles of joy in 2023.

“There are more names in use today than there were in previous generations.

“The number of different names for boys reached a new all-time high in 2023, as did the number of unique names given to only one child in the year.

“The same pattern was observed for girls’ names, and the variety of names given to girls is still greater than for boys.”

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It’s not just Disney that is inspiring baby names in Scotland - summer blockbusters Oppenheimer and Barbie are also playing their part.

The name Cillian (after Oscar-winning Oppenheimer actor Cillian Murphy) moved up 24 places to 99th in the top list, and the name Margot (after Barbie actress Margot Robbie) moved up 57 places to 106th.

There are also a number of new names to the top 100 list, including Oakley which rose 64 places to 87th, and Mabel, which leapt 102 places to joint 93rd.

On the unusual names given to babies, NRS said Banksy, Daemon, Boy, Demigod, Howl and Shady were among 2,362 unique names chosen for boys.

Among the 2,983 unique names given to girls were Alloy, Costly, Pasty, Wynter-J, La and Na.

NRS statistician Phillipa Haxton said: “There are more names in use today than there were in previous generations.

“The number of different names for boys reached a new all-time high in 2023, as did the number of unique names given to only one child in the year.

“The same pattern was observed for girls’ names, and the variety of names given to girls is still greater than for boys.”