Top Scottish baby names for 2016 revealed

The most popular baby names in Scotland for 2016 have been revealed as Olivia and Jack.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) said Olivia became the top girl's name for the first time, replacing Emily - which came a close second this year.

Jack is the most popular boys' name for the ninth consecutive year. James came in at number two.

The births of 26,408 boys and 24,489 girls were registered in the period covered by the NRS figures.

The statistics are based on the births registered up to 3 December 2016.

Top 10 tables for 2016

Three of the Jacks born in Scotland during 2016 - still the most popular boys' name

Boys

1. Jack

2. James

3. Oliver

4. Lewis

5. Logan

6. Harry

7. Noah

8. Leo

9. Charlie

10. Alexander

Girls

1. Olivia

2. Emily

3. Sophie

4. Isla

5. Ava

6. Amelia

7. Jessica

8. Ella

9. Lucy

10. Charlotte

Source: National Records of Scotland

Girls' highlights

The NRS figures show that Olivia only just made it to the number one slot with 492 births registered - beating Emily by two places.

Sophie was down from second to third, having previously been the top name from 2005 to 2013. Isla remained fourth, Ava rose one place to fifth and Amelia was up one place to sixth.

Charlotte was the only new entrant to the girls' top 10 and Lily was the only name to drop out.

Sophia was the fastest climber within the girls' top 20, up three places to 16th. There were also three new names in the girls' top 20: Charlotte, Aria and Evie.

Sara (left) and Kathryn - two names that did not make the top 10

Boys' highlights

Jack remains the most popular boys' name by a long way, with 465 births registered compared to the 402 babies called James.

Oliver was knocked into third place by James, while Lewis remains fourth in the boys' top 10 table. Logan rose three places to fifth, Harry climbed 10 places to sixth and Noah jumped eight places to seventh.

Harry, Noah and Leo were the new names to arrive in the boys' top 10. Lucas, Harris and Daniel all dropped out.

The fastest climbers in the boys' top 20 were Harry, Noah and Leo. Ethan was the only entrant to the top 20, up six places to 17th.

Big climbers

In the top 50 tables these were the biggest climbers of 2016:

• Isabella (up nine places to 33rd)

• Robyn (up nine places to 37th)

• Jaxon (up nine places to joint 38th)

• Sofia (up eight places to joint 41st)

According to the NRS, the top 50 boys' first names accounted for 40% of all those registered and the top 50 girls' first names accounted for 38% of registrations.

A full list of all names registered during 2016 will be published in March 2017.