Ayrshire's most popular baby names announced by stats experts

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Ayrshire's most popular baby names have been revealed.The National Records of Scotland have released the most popular first names given to babies whose births were registered in Scotland in 2023.Across the country, Luca was the most popular name for boys, with Isla being the most popular girl's name.

Only two of the council areas, Moray and North Ayrshire had both Luca and Isla as the top names, however, in both councils, the first place for boys was shared between several names.Luca became the top name for the first time since records began in 1974, overtaking Noah after its rise to first place in 2022.

It was the top boys' name in seven areas, including East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire where three other names shared the first place including Alfie, Freddie and Noah.In North Ayrshire, the top girl's name was Isla, which was the most or joint most popular girl's name in eight of the council areas, while in East Ayrshire the most popular girl's name was Ava.

In South Ayrshire, the most popular boy's name was Harris while Maya was the most popular girl's name.NRS Statistician Phillipa Haxton said: "National Records of Scotland is pleased to welcome all of Scotland’s bundles of joy in 2023."There are more names in use today than there were in previous generations."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."The same pattern was observed for girls’ names, and the variety of names given to girls is still greater than for boys."Some of the names rising in use are associated with movies.