Most popular baby names in Scotland for 2025 revealed
Parents have chosen from a record number of names in the last year
Last updated 26th May 2026
Scotland's most popular baby names for 2025 have been released.
Noah has topped the list of boys' names once again with 318, after returning to the top spot in 2024. Meanwhile, Freya has become the most popular girls' name for the first time at 268, overtaking Olivia. Both names were the most popular in seven council areas, with Aberdeenshire being the only one where both Noah and Freya were the top names.
The other names making up the top ten for boys were Luca, Rory, Muhammad, Oliver, Theo, Leo, Archie, Finlay and Harris. The next most popular girls names were Isla, Olivia, Amelia, Grace, Emily, Millie, Lily, Sofia and Rosie.
Some names have also soared in popularity from the previous year's data. For girls, the names Lily and Matilda have seen the biggest climb up the charts, with Darcy and Margot also scoring significantly higher than 2024. For boys, the name Vinnie has landed in the top 100 names, Cooper and Ruaridh have also pushed much further up the table.
The figures, provided by the National Records of Scotland, also show there was a record number of different names chosen in 2025. Girls across Scotland were given more than 4,600 names and for boys it was around 3,900. More than 11% of boys born last year don't share their name with another boy born that same year.
Some of the possible inspirations for baby names in 2025 seem to come from nature, with Luna, Nova and Aurora proving popular. Analysis from the NRS also shows a significant influence coming from films, TV and music. The name Cillian has remained popular since Cillian Murphy's role as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders and Billie has reached record popularity for girls, it's been increasingly common since Billie Eilish released her debut album in 2020.
In total, around 45,000 babies were born in Scotland last year.
A full breakdown of baby names for 2025 is available at the National Records of Scotland's website.
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