While Jack and Isla were the most popular baby names last year, some parents’ choices for their newborns were a little more surprising.
Others looked to film, television or music for inspiration – and some went their own way entirely, plumping for the likes of L-Elizabeth, You and Great.
The annual list of baby names registered in Scotland was released by the National Records of Scotland on Tuesday morning.
Heroes of the big screen and comic books featured, with a boy called Marvel, a girl called Ace-Marvel, two Thors, five Lokis and several Odins.
Marvel Comics Wanda Maximoff shares her first name with no less than four girls registered during 2020.
The name Wanda had fallen from popularity during the 1980s and after a couple of appearances around a decade ago, remerged with the character in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films of more recent years, including Avengers: Endgame.
The big-screen inspired several others names listed, presumably by Disney fans. Two girls share the name Moana and four babies were called Coco. The girl called Soul may or may not have the studio’s December release of that title to thank for her name.
Star Wars’ enduring popularity could probably account for boys called Obi and Solo, and that of the Harry Potter series’ for children named Hermione, Ginny, Ollivander and Fenrir.
Game of Thrones
No less than 30 girls registered last year share their name with the Game of Thrones heroine Arya. There were also two girls called Khaleesi, one Khalisy and a Sersi.
Our local geography was celebrated by the parents of one Fife, two Tays and three Clovas.
And music must be the love of the parents of Elvis, Jagger, Fleetwood, Iggy, Linkin, three girls called Eilish and several Bowies, as well as Nirvana, Cobain and perhaps Rhiana.
Gaming-inspired names were on the list too, with four registrations of the name Zelda, as well as a Link, Navi, Gerallt, and Mario and Luigi.
Other unusual names on the list included Cloud, Excell, Elmo, Elon, Bear-Blu, Tiger, Psalm, Zendaya and Twyla.
Popular culture often affects how people name their babies.”
Julie Ramsay, National Records of Scotland
Julie Ramsay, NRS vital events statistician, said: “Popular culture often affects how people name their babies.
“The name Billie rose in popularity by 79% in the past two years with 34 baby girls being given this name in 2020.
“In the same time, Google searches in the UK for “Billie” and “Billie Eilish” spiked, with the singer having her first number one single in the UK in early 2020.
“Tommy, a name occurring in the popular TV shows Peaky Blinders and Love Island, has doubled in popularity in the last two years, with 148 boys being given this name.”
Most popular baby names in Scotland for 2020 revealed – but where does your child’s name rank?