This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Most popular names of 2002
06/01/2003
Jack and Chloe remain the most popular baby names,
according to the official lists published today by the
Register General for Scotland.
Boy's names
For the fourth year in a row Jack was the favourite name
for boys.
In fact the top five boys' names in 2002 remained in the
same position as they were in 2001. Lewis, in second place,
has also held that position since 1999.
Liam and Matthew have both moved into the top ten (7
th and 8
th place respectively), while Kyle (up 8 places
to 12
th), Ben (up 9 places to 13
th), Nathan (up 8 places to 20
th), Joshua (up 7 places to 23
rd), Aaron (up 10 places to 27
th) and Josh (up 14 places to 28
th) have moved significantly up the table.
Longstanding favourites such as Andrew (down 10 places
to 17
th), David (down 8 places to 25
th) and John (down 7 places to 31
st), have dropped significantly, and other major
drops in popularity have been Jordan (down 15 places to 34
th) and Craig (down 14 places to 40
th)
Names dropping out of the top hundred are Greg, Martin,
Alistair, Nicholas and Anthony
The biggest jump in placings has been Charlie (up 31
places to 78
th), which also figures in the girls' top
100.
By mid-December 2002, more than 24,500 boys' names had
been registered, with nearly 2,000 different first names
being used. The top 50 names accounted for just over 60% of
the total and nearly 1250 boys were given unique (for 2002)
first names.
Girls' names
Chloe has been the favourite girls' name since 1998.
Last year Chloe was substantially more popular than any
other name, but this year, other names such as Sophie, Emma
and Amy have closed the gap considerably. Sophie has in
fact run Chloe quite close in 2002. Another advance was
made by Ellie (up 11 places to 6
th). Other big movers in the top 50 are Louise
(up 16 places to 28
th) and Jennifer (up 11 places to 29
th).
Lauren has had a significant drop in popularity in 2002
(down six places to 8
th), while Shannon (down 7 places to 23
rd), Olivia (down 10 places to 35
th), Cara (down 14 places to 42
nd) and Beth (down 13 places to 50
th) have dropped sharply.
Kirsten, Sara, Jasmine and Victoria have all dropped out
of the top 100, along with Jordan, which also dropped
significantly in the boys' list.
The biggest jump in placings for girls' names has been
Alicia, which has moved up to 82
nd place from a distant 168
th place last year - a jump of 86 places.
By mid December 2002, just under 23,500 girls had been
registered, with over 3,000 different names being used. The
top 50 girls' names accounted for just less than half of
the registrations, and nearly 2,000 girls in Scotland were
given unique (for 2002) names.
More details
James, John, William and Alexander are more popular as
second names than Jack is as a first name. The top 10 boys
second names account for more than half of all second
names.
Louise and Elizabeth, as second names, are both twice as
popular as Chloe, the leading first name for girls. The top
20 girls' second names account for about half of all the
second names used.
Regional variations
Jack is the top boys' name in 16 of the 32 council
areas, with Lewis being top in 11 of the areas.
Chloe was the top girls' name in nine council areas,
whilst Sophie was top in six and Amy was top in four. There
was a lot of variation in favourite girls' names across the
areas of Scotland.
England and Wales
An analysis by the Office for National Statistics
covering England and Wales has shown that Jack and Chloe
are again the most popular names in 2002. In Wales, the
most popular boys' name is Joshua, which in Scotland is in
23
rd place. Further information can be found on
the ONS website at
www.statistics.gov.uk
There are many websites dedicated to name lists. The two
given below give much background information and links to
other sites of interest.
www.babynames.com
www.eponym.org
All births have, by law, to be registered, and the
records sent in by local registrars to the General Register
Office for Scotland. This allows the production of tables
showing the most popular first forenames, not just for a
section of the population or those announced in a
particular newspaper, but for all new babies born in
Scotland.
All the information for 2002 contained in these tables
is provisional. It is based on births registered up to
mid-December 2002. The information for 2001 contained in
this paper is for the full year, and therefore varies from
that contained in last year's paper.
The rankings were based on the first forename recorded
on the birth register. Different spellings, e.g. Stephen,
Steven, were counted separately. Accents were ignored.