Scotland sees record number of unique baby names

Scotland saw a record number of names given to only one baby last year, with Banksy, Daemon and Jihad among them, the National Records of Scotland said on Thursday.

Boy, Demigod, Howl and Shady were also among the 2,362 unique names given to boys. Alloy, Costly and Pasty were among the 2,983 unique names for girls.

For more conventional names, Isla returned as the top name for girls, with Luca the most popular for boys, said the agency, which compiles population statistics in Scotland.

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

"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."

Luca's popularity has grown since the release of the Pixar movie of the same name in 2021, while new parents also appear to have been influenced by last year's big screen blockbusters.

Cillian and Margot -- after "Oppenheimer" actor Cillian Murphy and "Barbie" lead Margot Robbie -- moved up 24 and 57 places to 99th and 106th respectively in the overall list.

Scotland's population was estimated at a record 5.4 million, according to the last census in 2022.

Agence France-Presse