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Popular Forenames – Babies' First Names 2008

Changing Trends in Naming Babies

For both boys and girls, the range of names used has been consistently widening over the last 100 years. Parents are increasingly selecting names which are different. The following table illustrates this trend.

Top ten names, as a percentage of all names, selected years, Scotland

 

Boys

Girls

1900

68.4

58.1

1950

53.3

36.3

1975

32.6

20.2

2000

21.7

20.4

2008

16.1

15.2

 

Another aspect of the changing range of names is an increasing variation in spelling. The tables presented here count different spellings separately. If combined, Callum/Calum would be in third place and Aimee/Amy would be second.


Page last updated: 15 December 2008


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