Freya has replaced Olivia as the most chosen name for baby girls in Scotland according to new data from National Records of Scotland.
268 babies were given the name in 2025. It had been in the top three girls’ names for the previous three years but this is the first time it has hit the top spot.
Noah remains at number one for boys. 318 babies were called Noah. It’s been in the top three since 2020.
For girls, the biggest climbers within the top 100, were Lilly and Matilda, both up 55 places to 83rd and 93rd respectively. Darcy moved up by 52 places to 100th and Margot up by 45 to 79th.
Soaring up the boys’ top 100 were Vinnie up 70 places to 95th, Cooper up 42 places to 79th and Ruaridh up 33 places to 52nd.
NRS Statistician Anouska Pandya said: “NRS sends congratulations to everyone who welcomed babies in 2025.
It’s always exciting to see a name reach the number one spot for the first time. Freya has taken a long time to reach the top. The name ranked 578th in the 1970s and rose in popularity each decade until arriving at number 1 in 2025.”
There are now a record number of names in use for boys (3957). There are still many more names in use for girls (4603) but that number has fallen slightly since 2024.
NRS said the data doesn’t provide evidence for why particular names rise or fall in popularity but sometimes changes coincide with their use in popular culture.
Freya is one spelling for the name of a goddess in Norse mythology. It is also the name of an actress in TV show The Witcher and a character in another show called The Originals. Babies needn’t be named after a person or character for their parents to like the sound of the name.
The girls’ name Hallie is up from 31st place to 19th. Could this name have been more visible due to the character in the children’s animation Doc McStuffins?
And although the numbers are small, names of characters from the Bridgerton books and TV series - Daphne, Eloise and Penelope - are all gaining popularity.
If these kind of stars aren’t enough the cosmos might also be having an influence. The name Aurora has been climbing alongside increased visibility of the aurora borealis or Northern Lights. Dazzling displays in 2024 and 2025 have occurred alongside record numbers of parents embracing the name for their babies, with 74 and 89 girls being called Aurora each year respectively.
Meanwhile analysis of the data has found parents showing a growing preference for names beginning with the letter A. 14% of girls and 11.7% of boys now have names starting with the first letter of the alphabet. Girls led the way with A the most popular initial since 2004. Boys caught up with the A-team trend in 2017.
Additionally NRS reports that parents increasingly choose names ending in the letters ie. Among girls, 13.4% born last year have a name ending ie. That’s true of 8% of boys. That’s up from 4.5% of girls and under 1% of boys in 1974 and all time highs for this name ending. Names like Archie, Freddie, Brodie, Millie, Rosie and Maisie have been driving the trend.
