Community / Most popular baby names of 2021 revealed
Due to how data is presented only boys names in Shetland feature in this year’s list
GEORGE, Harry, Lewis and Magnus were the joint most popular baby names in Shetland in 2021, it has been revealed.
The four boys’ names were each used three times last year for babies whose mothers were living in Shetland, according to the National Records of Scotland.
Its annual data is broken down by council area but only provides the forenames given to three or more babies, meaning no girls’ names were used more than twice in Shetland last year.
Nationally, Olivia has overtaken Isla to become Scotland’s most popular name for a baby girl, while Jack has chalked up a 14th successive year as the most popular boys’ name, followed by Noah and Leo.
Girls’ names that have risen in popularity include Lyla, which shot up 56 places, Blake and Rowan, while Carson was the biggest mover among boys’ names with a 42-place rise, followed by Struan and Myles.
NRS director of statistical services Pete Whitehouse said the long term trend was for “more names to be used each year, including some names only given to one baby in 2021”.
“Almost 12 per cent of girls and nine per cent of boys were given a name that was not registered by anyone else in Scotland,” he said.
“Together with the growing range of names being used this means it’s far less common for children to share their name with their classmates than it was for their parents or grandparents.”
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