Three Scottish baby names at risk of extinction that were once hugely popular

Scotland's rich heritage and fascinating history means that this country provides plenty of inspiration when it comes to baby names - and there are so many to choose from.

And whether you’re going for an old-fashioned classic or a more unique choice, you know you're never going to be short on options. However, with trend cycles changing all the time, some names do eventually fall out of favour - even if they were once very popular.

And new research, carried out by Compare the Market using ONS data, has found that three common Scottish names are at risk of 'extinction' as they've seen a huge drop in popularity since 2011.

Mackenzie and Connor are both said to be at risk of extinction in 2024, with a decrease in popularity of -81 percent and -80 percent respectively from 2011 until 2021.

Both classic Scottish boy names that have been favoured by parents for years, they have begun to fall out of fashion in recent years in favour of more modern trending names such as Saint, which has seen a huge surge in popularity of 1,867 percent in the 10-year period. Kim Kardashian catapulted the name into the limelight back in 2015, when she gave the name to her baby boy.

And in terms of girls' choices, Fiona - a name of Scottish origin that means fair or white - is also at risk of falling out of fashion completely due to a 76 percent decrease in popularity.

Elsewhere on the list, the name Brandon took the top spot for largest decrease over the 10-year period at 87 percent, followed by Ashton at 83 percent.

Amy, Brooke and Kimberley are also amongst some of the baby girl names that were once very popular but have recently been overtaken by the likes of Harper, Ariah and Aubrey.

Baby names at risk of extinction

Girls

1. Amy

2. Brooke

3. Fiona

4. Kimberley

5. Samantha

6. Lucy

7. Honour

8. Kate

9. Holly

10. Rebecca

Boys

1. Brandon

2. Ashton

3. Mackenzie

4. Connor

5. Justin

6. Matthew

7. Luke

8. Ashley

9. Bradley

10. Bailey

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