Greta as a girl’s name? Scotland’s warming to the idea!
SHE has been savage in her criticism of governments around the globe on her crusade to curb the world’s rising temperature.
But it seems not even Greta Thunberg’s blunt speaking style can stop Scots warming to her – at least when it comes to naming their daughters.
Six baby girls were called Greta last year – alongside more unusual names such as Heavenly, Phenomenal and Dream.
TV also seemed to be a source of inspiration for parents, with 41 boys named after actor Cillian Murphy of Peaky Blinders – two more than in 2018. Other babies named after characters in the BBC gangster drama include Polly and Chester.
Unusual names added to the birth register in 2019 included the very friendly-sounding Mate, one girl each called Poet and Excel, plus a boy who has to live up to being a Legend.
However, more traditional names continue to lead the way, with Jack the most popular name of the decade for boys, and Sophie for girls.
Jack remained the most popular baby name for boys in Scotland last year, while Olivia was top for girls, according to National Records of Scotland (NRS) data.
In total, 449 boys were called Jack, while 394 girls were named Olivia. Some parents appeared to take inspiration from place names, with 13 girls called Paisley, four named Paris and one Vienna Reign. Perhaps influenced by film and music, there was also a James-Dean, two boys named Hendrix and four Bowies. In total, 49,863 births were registered last year, with Emily in second place for girls with 388, followed by Isla (364). Oliver was in second place for boys (359) and James third (345). Alan Ferrier, head of demographic statistics at NRS, said: ‘Jack and Olivia continue to be the most popular baby names in Scotland, however, this year, over 5,000 unique baby names were registered, which suggests parents may be striving for originality and individuality when naming their children.
‘Looking outside the top 100 names, it’s interesting to see the impact that popular culture is having on how parents name their children. More boys than ever are now called Ezra, which may be a result of the popularity of singer George Ezra.
‘The Peaky Blinders trend has also continued outside the top 100 names, with a continued rise in the number of babies named Cillian.’
The new lists from NRS update the top 100s published in December to include the first name of every baby whose birth was registered that month.
Other names in the top five for boys last year were Charlie and Harris, while for girls Sophie was the fourth most popular name, with Ella fifth.
The NRS also identifies the top names in each decade and revealed the top three first forenames for births that were registered from 2010 to last year.
For boys, Jack was the most popular, with 5,424 babies given that name over the ten-year period followed by James (4,140) and Lewis (3,921).
Sophie took the top spot for girls (5,002 in ten years) with Emily in second place (4,765) and Olivia in third (4,732).
An NRS spokesman said the name James continues to be popular and is the only one to have remained in the top ten every year from 1974, the first for which the NRS website provides such information.
‘Popular culture having an impact’