Olivia and Oliver are winners at the name game
Cute kids are tops when it comes to modern monikers
They’re too young to know it, but these two cuties are babyname trendsetters.
Little Oliver Murray, two, and threeyear-old Olivia Hughes are top of the table when it comes to parents choosing to name their wee ones.
The National Register for Scotland (NRS) has released the top baby names for 2017 as well as in each council area.
In Scotland, the most popular boys name is Jack for the 10th year in a row while Olivia is top for girls for the second year running.
In Renfrewshire, however, the most popular boy’s name is Oliver, with Aaron, Jack, Daniel and Lewis making up the rest of the top five. For the girls, Olivia is top, reflecting the national trend, while Emily, Isla, Charlotte and Lily are the other names in the top five.
Agnes Thomson, head of Douglas Street Pre-Five centre in Paisley where Oliver attends, said: “I’ve worked here quite a few years and see trends in different names.
“We’ve got a lot of Gaelic names coming through and wee ones with different spellings.
“There are a lot of older names which is lovely like Jacob and Lucy.
“We’ve got a few Arianas because of Ariana Grande.
“Parents are influenced by music and films I think.”
Angela McManus, deputy manager of Linwood Community Childcare which looks after Olivia, agreed that older names are making a comeback.
She said: “We do get trends in names. Oliver has been back in fashion for a few years now and Ruby has been popular among my friends.
“We get quite a mixture of names in here.”
The NRS looked at all babies registered up to an including Saturday, December 2. A trend they noticed is for parents to give their children unique names.
Jack was the first forename of 1.8 per cent of boys while Olivia was given to two per cent of girls.
Looking back at the register in 1900, more than 68 per cent of boys were given a forename in the top 10 while in 2017, just 12.5 per cent were.
For girls in 1900, 58 per cent were given a name in the top 10 while this year, it was just 13.6.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, said: “Naming your baby is such an important decision and it’s always fun to see the names parents around Scotland are choosing.
“This year’s figures show some names have an enduring appeal, with Jack and Olivia confirming themselves as the most popular across Scotland – Jack for the 10th year in a row and Olivia for the second.
“The trend for unique names remains far higher than it has been in previous decades, indicating that today’s parents are thinking long and hard before choosing names for their babies.”