Scotland: the top ten boys’ names lost ground since 1974
The top ten’s share among published boys’ names: 34% → 13%. Names given to one or two babies are excluded. The single most common name accounted for 1.6% of that base in 2025 and 5.2% in 1974.
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Parents choose an ever wider range of names: the top ten and the single most common name go to a much smaller share of children. Shares use published names; very rare names (one or two children) are excluded.
One percentage scale relative to 1974: 0% is the starting value, +100% is a doubling, −50% is a halving. Lines show the yearly path; on a short screen, bars show the change to 2025. Equal distances mean equal relative changes. For shares, this is relative change, not percentage points. Gaps are not filled; original values and units are below.
- Top ten names % of published-name birth registrations
34.217 (1974) → 13.283 (2025)
- Most common name % of published-name birth registrations
5.151 (1974) → 1.619 (2025)
Published values for the selected period without interpolation. The headline describes an observation, not a causal effect.
Scotland, not the entire UK. Counts cover registered live births and exact first-name spellings. NRS suppresses counts 1–2; absence is not zero. Accents are combined under source rules; variants such as Ben and Benjamin are separate.
A question for this picture
Which names replaced the former mass leaders?