The Most Popular Names in Scotland, 1998
Printer-friendly versionThe Most Popular Names in Scotland, 1998
Contents
- Forenames in 1998
- Boys' Names
- Girls' Names
- Notes
- Top 100 boys' and girls' names given in 1998 in Scotland, alphabetically listed
- Top 100 boys' names given in 1998 in Scotland, with changes in popularity since 1997
- Top 100 girls' names given in 1998 in Scotland, with changes in popularity since 1997
Forenames in 1998
The tables below give the top 100 boys' and girls' names in 1998
(a) alphabetically: and
(b) in order or popularity, with changes in position since 1997.
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Boys' Names
The top 10 boys names have all changed position with the exception of the most popular name, Ryan which has remained number one since 1994. Jack and Ross both move up one place to hold second and third position. There were two new names in the top ten in 1998: Cameron up from 14thto 5th and Callum up from 20th to 10th. Two names dropped out of the top ten: David down from 9th to 13th and Michael down from 10th to 16th. Outside the top ten the greatest changes were Ethan (up 37 places from 122nd to 85th), and George (down 20 from 76th to 95th).
Girls' Names
The most popular girl's in 1998 was Chloe (up from 3rd in 1997), Megan came second (up from 4th in 1997), and Rebecca third (down from 2nd in 1997).This year there were no new entries to the top ten. Katie (up 5 places from last year), Lucy and Courtney (both up 3 places from last year) showed the biggest rise of those in the top 20. Outside the top twenty the greatest changes were Isla (up 45 places from =115th to 70th) and Hayley (down 29 from 40th to 69th).
Notes
All births have, by law, to be registered, and the records sent in by local registrars to the Registrar General enable him to produce 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 the new babies registered in Scotland in 1998. But even the most popular names have quite a small 'market share'. Chloes and Ryans are only three per cent of the 27,700 girls and 29,400 boys born last year. Quite a lot of information is available about Scottish names. In 1990 the Registrar General published a small book entitled Personal Names in Scotland covering surnames as well as forenames and including comparisons going back to 1855. Since then the Registrar General's records have been augmented to include a computerised index to the Church of Scotland parish registers back to 1553. This enables customers to analyse the frequency of occurrence of Scottish forenames and surnames over four centuries.
Top 100 boys' and girls' names given in 1998 in Scotland, alphabetically listed
| Position | Boys | Position | Girls |
| 32 | Aaron | 48 | Abbie |
| 26 | Adam | 97 | Abby |
| 41= | Aidan | 61= | Abigail |
| 92= | Aiden | 43= | Aimee |
| 72= | Alan | 95= | Alana |
| 28 | Alexander | 60= | Alexandra |
| 77= | Alistair | 79 | Alice |
| 8 | Andrew | 92= | Alison |
| 87= | Angus | 58= | Amber |
| 95= | Anthony | 5 | Amy |
| 39 | Ben | 36 | Anna |
| 68= | Benjamin | 74 | Ashleigh |
| 66 | Blair | 78 | Ashley |
| 80= | Bradley | 55 | Beth |
| 52 | Brandon | 40= | Bethany |
| 10 | Callum | 6 | Caitlin |
| 25 | Calum | 61= | Caitlyn |
| 5 | Cameron | 57 | Cara |
| 89= | Charles | 98= | Carla |
| 97= | Charlie | 80= | Carly |
| 24 | Christopher | 61 | Catherine |
| 75 | Ciaran | 77 | Catriona |
| 7 | Connor | 84 | Chantelle |
| 48 | Conor | 45 | Charlotte |
| 18 | Craig | 33 | Chelsea |
| 12 | Daniel | 1 | Chloe |
| 50 | Darren | 85= | Ciara |
| 13 | David | 40= | Claire |
| 54= | Dean | 15 | Courtney |
| 37 | Declan | 32 | Danielle |
| 87= | Duncan | 85 | Demi |
| 22 | Dylan | 22 | Eilidh |
| 85= | Ethan | 75= | Elizabeth |
| 33 | Euan | 82 | Ellen |
| 36 | Ewan | 58 | Ellie |
| 80= | Finlay | 19 | Emily |
| 34 | Fraser | 4 | Emma |
| 69 | Gary | 14 | Erin |
| 71 | Gavin | 75= | Eve |
| 96 | George | 65 | Fiona |
| 62= | Grant | 46 | Gemma |
| 61 | Greg | 51= | Georgia |
| 82= | Gregor | 10 | Hannah |
| 100 | Hamish | 69 | Hayley |
| 77 | Harry | 28 | Heather |
| 73 | Iain | 98= | Hollie |
| 92= | Ian | 23 | Holly |
| 2 | Jack | 53= | Iona |
| 97 | Jacob | 70 | Isla |
| 58 | Jake | 29 | Jade |
| 6 | James | 67= | Jenna |
| 21 | Jamie | 24 | Jennifer |
| 64 | Jason | 33 | Jessica |
| 76 | Jay | 56 | Jodie |
| 23 | John | 89 | Jordan |
| 54= | Jonathan | 80= | Kaitlin |
| 11 | Jordan | 100= | Kaitlyn |
| 54= | Joseph | 83 | Katherine |
| 59 | Josh | 100= | Kathryn |
| 46 | Joshua | 17 | Katie |
| 73= | Kevin | 40= | Kayleigh |
| 17 | Kieran | 66 | Kelsey |
| 19 | Kyle | 87= | Kerry |
| 47 | Lee | 71= | Kimberley |
| 4 | Lewis | 67= | Kirsten |
| 15 | Liam | 18 | Kirsty |
| 57 | Luke | 20 | Laura |
| 53 | Marc | 8 | Lauren |
| 29 | Mark | 73 | Leah |
| 67 | Martin | 39 | Lisa |
| 14 | Matthew | 21 | Louise |
| 99 | Max | 16 | Lucy |
| 16 | Michael | 2 | Megan |
| 77= | Murray | 94 | Meghan |
| 30 | Nathan | 49 | Melissa |
| 94 | Neil | 92= | Mhairi |
| 85= | Nicholas | 61= | Molly |
| 62= | Owen | 25= | Morgan |
| 35 | Paul | 31 | Natalie |
| 69= | Peter | 38 | Natasha |
| 44 | Reece | 47 | Niamh |
| 72 | Rhys | 43= | Nicola |
| 45 | Robbie | 12 | Nicole |
| 31 | Robert | 53= | Olivia |
| 91 | Ronan | 72 | Paige |
| 60 | Rory | 27 | Rachael |
| 3 | Ross | 7 | Rachel |
| 1 | Ryan | 3 | Rebecca |
| 65 | Sam | 87= | Rebekah |
| 51 | Samuel | 90= | Rhiannon |
| 9 | Scott | 35 | Robyn |
| 20 | Sean | 25= | Samantha |
| 49 | Shaun | 13 | Sarah |
| 41= | Stephen | 9 | Shannon |
| 43 | Steven | 95= | Siobhan |
| 89= | Stewart | 11 | Sophie |
| 40 | Stuart | 34 | Stephanie |
| 82= | Taylor | 51= | Taylor |
| 27 | Thomas | 90 | Toni |
| 38 | William | 50 | Victoria |
| 37 | Zoe |
Top 100 boys' names given in 1998 in Scotland, with changes in popularity since 1997
Boys
| 1998 | 1997-1998 | 1997 | |||
| Name | Count | Rank | change | Count | Rank |
| Ryan | 789 | 1 | No change | 793 | 1 |
| Jack | 703 | 2 | +1 | 758 | 3 |
| Ross | 660 | 3 | +1 | 700 | 4 |
| Lewis | 635 | 4 | +4 | 566 | 8 |
| Cameron | 615 | 5 | +9 | 524 | 14 |
| James | 614 | 6 | -1 | 636 | 5 |
| Connor | 588 | 7 | -1 | 588 | 6 |
| Andrew | 580 | 8 | -6 | 759 | 2 |
| Scott | 545 | 9 | -2 | 583 | 7 |
| Callum | 522 | 10 | +10 | 419 | 20 |
| Jordan | 514 | 11 | No change | 552 | 11 |
| Daniel | 489 | 12 | +1 | 544 | 13 |
| David | 482 | 13 | -4 | 560 | 9 |
| Matthew | 480 | 14 | +1 | 508 | 15 |
| Liam | 469 | 15 | -3 | 549 | 12 |
| Michael | 465 | 16 | -6 | 556 | 10 |
| Kieran | 455 | 17 | -1 | 469 | 16 |
| Craig | 399 | 18 | +3 | 417 | 21 |
| Kyle | 394 | 19 | No change | 421 | 19 |
| Sean | 378 | 20 | +4 | 363 | 24 |
| Jamie | 376 | 21 | -4 | 451 | 17 |
| Dylan | 359 | 22 | +1 | 394 | 23 |
| John | 353 | 23 | -1 | 395 | 22 |
| Christopher | 345 | 24 | -6 | 438 | 18 |
| Calum | 336 | 25 | +2 | 335 | 27 |
| Adam | 331 | 26 | No change | 347 | 26 |
| Thomas | 308 | 27 | -2 | 348 | 25 |
| Alexander | 301 | 28 | +3 | 286 | 31 |
| Mark | 281 | 29 | -1 | 310 | 28 |
| Nathan | 279 | 30 | +13 | 205 | 43 |
| Robert | 271 | 31 | -2 | 297 | 29 |
| Aaron | 267 | 32 | +2 | 258 | 34 |
| Euan | 260 | 33 | +3 | 251 | 36 |
| Fraser | 243 | 34 | -4 | 291 | 30 |
| Paul | 236 | 35 | -2 | 266 | 33 |
| Ewan | 235 | 36 | +12 | 173 | 48 |
| Declan | 224 | 37 | -5 | 283 | 32 |
| William | 216 | 38 | +1 | 228 | 39 |
| Ben | 210 | 39 | +6 | 195 | 45 |
| Stuart | 206 | 40 | -5 | 257 | 35 |
| Aidan | 193 | 41= | No change | 207 | 41 |
| Stephen | 193 | 41= | +1 | 206 | 42 |
| Steven | 189 | 43 | -6 | 243 | 37 |
| Reece | 187 | 44 | +5 | 167 | 49 |
| Robbie | 179 | 45 | +10 | 143 | 55 |
| Joshua | 178 | 46 | No change | 191 | 46 |
| Lee | 177 | 47 | -7 | 226 | 40 |
| Conor | 167 | 48 | -1 | 176 | 47 |
| Shaun | 162 | 49 | -5 | 198 | 44 |
| Darren | 159 | 50 | -12 | 231 | 38 |
| Samuel | 154 | 51 | -1 | 159 | 50 |
| Brandon | 142 | 52 | +1 | 149 | 53 |
| Marc | 139 | 53 | +3 | 142 | 56 |
| Dean | 138 | 54= | No change | 148 | 54 |
| Jonathan | 138 | 54= | -3 | 158 | 51 |
| Joseph | 138 | 54= | -2 | 155 | 52 |
| Luke | 135 | 57 | No change | 139 | 57 |
| Jake | 129 | 58 | +14 | 102 | 72= |
| Josh | 128 | 59 | +9 | 109 | 68 |
| Rory | 127 | 60 | -2 | 138 | 58 |
| Greg | 126 | 61 | -1 | 133 | 60= |
| Grant | 125 | 62= | -2 | 133 | 60= |
| Owen | 125 | 62= | +17 | 82 | 79 |
| Jason | 124 | 64 | +1 | 128 | 65 |
| Sam | 113 | 65 | -5 | 133 | 60= |
| Blair | 110 | 66 | -3 | 131 | 63 |
| Martin | 105 | 67 | -1 | 117 | 66 |
| Benjamin | 104 | 68 | +2 | 103 | 70= |
| Gary | 101 | 69= | -5 | 130 | 64 |
| Peter | 101 | 69= | -10 | 134 | 59 |
| Gavin | 94 | 71 | -2 | 106 | 69 |
| Rhys | 93 | 72 | +2 | 97 | 74 |
| Kevin | 89 | 73= | -3 | 103 | 70= |
| Iain | 89 | 73= | -6 | 115 | 67 |
| Ciaran | 88 | 75 | +12 | 72 | 87= |
| Jay | 86 | 76 | +15 | 70 | 91 |
| Alistair | 85 | 77= | +3 | 81 | 80 |
| Harry | 85 | 77= | -2 | 94 | 75 |
| Murray | 85 | 77= | +18 | 60 | 95= |
| Bradley | 84 | 80= | +2 | 77 | 82= |
| Finlay | 84 | 80= | +21 | 55 | 101 |
| Alan | 82 | 82= | -6 | 86 | 76= |
| Gregor | 82 | 82= | -10 | 102 | 72= |
| Taylor | 82 | 82= | +8 | 71 | 90% |
| Ethan | 80 | 85= | +37 | 42 | 122= |
| Nicholas | 80 | 85= | -9 | 86 | 76= |
| Angus | 77 | 87= | -6 | 79 | 81 |
| Duncan | 77 | 87= | -5 | 77 | 82= |
| Charles | 76 | 89= | +6 | 60 | 95= |
| Stewart | 76 | 89= | -4 | 75 | 85= |
| Ronan | 72 | 91 | +23 | 47 | 114= |
| Ian | 69 | 92= | No change | 69 | 92= |
| Aiden | 69 | 92= | +24 | 45 | 116= |
| Neil | 68 | 94 | -7 | 72 | 87= |
| Anthony | 12% | 95= | -10 | 75 | 85= |
| George | 66 | 95= | -20 | 86 | 76= |
| Charlie | 62 | 97= | +29 | 40 | 126 |
| Jacob | 62 | 97= | +21 | 44 | 118= |
| Max | 61 | 99 | +6 | 52 | 105= |
| Hamish | 60 | 100 | +2 | 54 | 102= |
Top 100 girls' names given in 1998 in Scotland, with changes in popularity since 1997
Girls
| 1998 | 1997-1998 | 1997 | |||
| Name | Count | Rank | change | Count | Rank |
| Chloe | 950 | 1 | +2 | 700 | 3 |
| Megan | 675 | 2 | +2 | 641 | 4 |
| Rebecca | 628 | 3 | -1 | 711 | 2 |
| Emma | 599 | 4 | -3 | 752 | 1 |
| Amy | 584 | 5 | +1 | 623 | 6 |
| Caitlin | 577 | 6 | +2 | 545 | 8 |
| Rachel | 541 | 7 | +2 | 518 | 9 |
| Lauren | 538 | 8 | -3 | 630 | 5 |
| Shannon | 442 | 9 | -2 | 551 | 7 |
| Hannah | 423 | 10 | No change | 480 | 10 |
| Sophie | 398 | 11 | +1 | 430 | 12 |
| Nicole | 376 | 12 | +1 | 377 | 13 |
| Sarah | 371 | 13 | -2 | 470 | 11 |
| Erin | 359 | 14 | No change | 362 | 14 |
| Courtney | 315 | 15 | +3 | 275 | 18 |
| Lucy | 302 | 16 | +3 | 258 | 19 |
| Katie | 276 | 17 | +5 | 252 | 22= |
| Kirsty | 273 | 18 | +2 | 257 | 20 |
| Emily | 270 | 19 | -3 | 290 | 16 |
| Laura | 252 | 20 | -5 | 347 | 15 |
| Louise | 246 | 21 | +1 | 252 | 22= |
| Eilidh | 242 | 22 | +4 | 214 | 26 |
| Holly | 216 | 23 | +4 | 211 | 27 |
| Jennifer | 207 | 24 | -7 | 277 | 17 |
| Morgan | 196 | 25= | +27 | 110 | 52= |
| Samantha | 196 | 25= | +3 | 208 | 28 |
| Rachael | 191 | 27 | -2 | 221 | 25 |
| Heather | 190 | 28 | -4 | 250 | 24 |
| Jade | 182 | 29 | +5 | 176 | 34 |
| Chelsea | 181 | 30 | +3 | 179 | 33 |
| Natalie | 176 | 31 | +10 | 154 | 41= |
| Danielle | 174 | 32 | -11 | 256 | 21 |
| Jessica | 168 | 33 | +4 | 160 | 37 |
| Stephanie | 167 | 34 | -5 | 202 | 29 |
| Robyn | 163 | 35 | No change | 173 | 35 |
| Anna | 162 | 36 | +7 | 151 | 43 |
| Zoe | 157 | 37 | -1 | 162 | 36 |
| Natasha | 152 | 38 | +6 | 147 | 44 |
| Lisa | 150 | 39 | +2 | 154 | 41= |
| Bethany | 147 | 40= | +8 | 128 | 48= |
| Claire | 147 | 40= | -8 | 182 | 32 |
| Kayleigh | 147 | 40= | -10 | 193 | 30 |
| Aimee | 142 | 43= | +2 | 144 | 45 |
| Nicola | 142 | 43= | -5 | 159 | 38= |
| Charlotte | 137 | 45 | +1 | 134 | 46 |
| Gemma | 134 | 46 | -8 | 159 | 38= |
| Niamh | 132 | 47 | +17 | 91 | 64 |
| Abbie | 127 | 48 | -1 | 132 | 47 |
| Melissa | 123 | 49 | -18 | 189 | 31 |
| Victoria | 121 | 50 | -2 | 128 | 48= |
| Georgia | 120 | 51= | +1 | 110 | 52= |
| Taylor | 120 | 51= | +3 | 108 | 54 |
| Iona | 119 | 53= | +15 | 87 | 68= |
| Olivia | 119 | 53= | +10 | 93 | 63 |
| Beth | 118 | 55 | -5 | 124 | 50 |
| Jodie | 116 | 56 | -5 | 113 | 51 |
| Cara | 105 | 57 | +2 | 97 | 59 |
| Amber | 101 | 58= | +15 | 78 | 73 |
| Ellie | 101 | 58= | No change | 100 | 58 |
| 100 | 60 | +17 | 75 | 77= | |
| Abigail | 95 | 61= | +4 | 90 | 65 |
| Caitlyn | 95 | 61= | +25 | 64 | 86= |
| Catherine | 95 | 61= | +6 | 88 | 67 |
| Molly | 95 | 61= | +5 | 89 | 66 |
| Fiona | 94 | 65 | -8 | 101 | 57 |
| Kelsey | 92 | 66 | +4 | 83 | 70 |
| Jenna | 90 | 67= | -12 | 106 | 55 |
| Kirsten | 90 | 67= | -11 | 104 | 56 |
| Hayley | 87 | 69 | -29 | 156 | 40 |
| Isla | 81 | 70 | +45 | 43 | 115= |
| Kimberley | 78 | 71= | -3 | 87 | 68= |
| Paige | 78 | 71= | +4 | 76 | 76 |
| Leah | 77 | 73 | +1 | 77 | 74= |
| Ashleigh | 76 | 74 | -14 | 96 | 60 |
| Elizabeth | 73 | 75= | -14 | 95 | 61= |
| Eve | 73 | 75= | +25 | 54 | 100 |
| Catriona | 71 | 77 | +6 | 66 | 83= |
| Ashley | 65 | 78 | -17 | 95 | 61= |
| Alice | 64 | 79 | +1 | 69 | 80 |
| Carly | 63 | 80= | +3 | 66 | 83= |