The baby boy who’s called Thor Hercules!
‘Tempting to dream up a new name’
WHEN deciding what to call your baby boy, a mixture of Norse and Greek mythology would not usually be the most obvious source of inspiration.
But it emerged yesterday that a baby boy has been given the unique name of Thor Hercules by one imaginative pair of Scots parents.
The name, chosen by a couple in Lochgilphead, Argyll, was among a host of unusual names given to babies in Scotland during 2017, which included Amazon, Boston-Blu and Dash.
While Jack and Olivia were the most popular names for babies, data released yesterday by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed many parents chose to give their children bizarre and unique names.
Unique boy names among the 52,911 babies born last year included Daemon, Duke, Hero, King, Little-One, Marvelous, Oak, Roar, Royal and Thor again, perhaps inspired by the superhero movies starring Chris Hemsworth.
Girl names on the list included Bella-Caledonia, Bonnie-Darling, Breeze, Divine, Heaven, Kalypso, Little, Lucky, Pepper and Porsche.
Other baby girls were called Ultra-Violet, Tuppence, Rainbow, Sailor, Scout, Vogue and Queen-Johanna. One baby girl was simply called M.
Many parents opted to name their children after famous figures and celebrities, with boys called Einstein, Elvis, James-Dean and Peter-Gabriel, while seven babies were named Corbyn after the Labour Party leader.
There was also a boy called Kubrick – surname of famed film director Stanley – and one called Stewie, the name of the scheming baby in hit animated TV comedy Family Guy.
TV show Game of Thrones appears to have influenced some choices, with four children named Khaleesi and one each called Khaleese, Khaleesi-Destiny, and Khaleesi-Grace.
A baby girl was called Willoughby, perhaps in tribute to ITV presenter Holly Willoughby, and another was named Lulu after the Scots singer.
Other parents went with a sporting theme with one boy called Ricksen, perhaps in tribute to former Rangers star Fernando, and one called Novak as a nod to tennis star Novak Djokovic.
Justine Roberts, founder of the website Mumsnet, said: ‘Everyone finds their own baby uniquely marvellous, and it can be tempting to emphasise it by dreaming up a brand new name for them.’