Hiya, Twinkle and Spartacus among Scots baby names

HIYA, Spartacus and Twinkle were among the unique names given to babies born in Scotland last year.
I'm Spartacus... no, I'm Spartacus ...I'm Spartacus... no, I'm Spartacus ...
I'm Spartacus... no, I'm Spartacus ...

The independence referendum also played its part, with more than two dozen babies named either Indy or Indie.

The names were revealed as the National Records of Scotland published a full list of all names given to babies whose birth was registered in 2014.

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The number of births registered was up by 711 from the 2013 figure.

Two children, a boy and a girl, were named Freedom, 83 boys were called Scott, there were 180 Williams – the 35th most ­popular boy’s name – plus 135 ­Roberts (50th) and 163 Andrews.

New First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also inspired new ­parents, with 21 Nicolas on the list, while Alex Salmond also caught the imagination, with 91 Alexs named, along with 32 Alasdairs and 154 Davids.

It would appear that uniqueness was the trend among parents, with 2102 boy’s names and 2894 unique girl’s names given to just one child.

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Overall, some 56,725 babies were born last year, with Jack and Emily the most popular names.

Both a boy and a girl were called Fox by their parents, while Lake was given to one baby boy and one infant girl.

There was also a girl called Apple – the name given to Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter – as well as a Peaches and a Berry.

Some baby names could have been inspired by places, with girls named Rio and Texas born last year, as well as a boy called London.

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Other unusual names given to boys included Atlas, Bear – the name Kate Winslet gave her youngest child – Diesel, Elvis, Mate, Sherlock, Spartacus, Steel and Thor.

There were also boys called R and T born in 2014, according to the list of names. However, the name of A is shared by two children.

Meanwhile, girls were given the names Bliss, Blossom, Hiya, Justice, Lullaby, Ocean, Peace, Precious, Princess, Sailor, ­Twinkle, Thirteena-Starr and Velvet.

After the box office success of Disney’s Frozen, 31 girls were named Elsa, 28 were named Anna and eight boys, Olaf.

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TV show Games of Thrones did not result in any Daenerys, but five girls were named Khaleesi, Khalese or Khalisa, after her title, meaning “queen”.

Lisa Penney, of Bounty, the UK’s largest parenting club, said: “Celebrities like the Beckhams are renowned for choosing unusual names for their offspring and today’s parents are quick to follow a trend in a bid to make sure their choice of baby names stands out from the crowd.

“But baby name trends can change quickly and names that first seem unusual can quickly become common in the classroom.

“While certain baby names can quickly rise to fame, they can just as easily fall from favour.

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“Take Tilly, Lexi and Lacey, for example, now that they are more common in classrooms across the country they no longer make the grade for new parents who want a name that no other child is likely to have in the playground.”

There was also a fall in the number of deaths registered, with this dropping by 461 to 54,239 – the fourth-lowest number of deaths recorded in the last 150 years.

A total of 29,070 couples tied the knot last year, 1500 more marriages than took place in 2013.

Of these, 367 were same-sex marriages, following legislation which allowed gay couples to wed from December last year. Of these couples, 359 had already been in a civil partnership.

Boys top 20:

1. Jack 583 (babies in 2014)

2. James 466

3. Lewis 411

4. Oliver 403

5. Logan 354

6. Daniel 349

7. Noah 321

8. Charlie 320

9. Lucas 310

10. Alexander 309

11. Mason 285

12. Harris 276

13. Max 274

14. Harry 268

15. Finlay 267

16. Adam 266

17. Aaron 264

18. Ethan 259

19.= Cameron 256

19.= Jacob 256

Girls top 20:

1. Emily 569

2. Sophie 542

3. Olivia 485

4. Isla 435

5. Jessica 419

6. Ava 379

7. Amelia 372

8. Lucy 363

9. Lily 310

10. Ellie 278

11. Ella 273

12. Sophia 271

13. Grace 265

14. Chloe 251

15. Freya 249

16. Millie 246

17. Mia 230

18. Emma 229

19. Eilidh 224

20. Anna 218