As years go on, baby names come in and out of popularity and what was once the most sought after title can fall out of favour with new mums.
Researchers have found that names popular in Scotland 100 years ago - including Mary, Margaret and Elizabeth - have made way for names such as Olivia, Emily and Isla in 2021 as mothers seemingly shun the more traditional names.
One moniker in particular that was all the rage in Scotland a century ago is no longer as fashionable as it once was. It turns out that Mary, which was Scotland's most popular name in 1921, is out of style.
The National Records of Scotland (NRS) top names of 4.8 million residents recorded back in June 19, 1921, found that nearly 300,000 women and girls shared the same name as the mother of Jesus Christ.
But findings show that trends have certainly shifted, as Mary did not place anywhere on the top 100 popular names a century on in 2021.
Findings also show that Joseph, another name associated with the Bible, has also declined in popularity. A century ago, it was 13th in the most popular boys' names.
However, by 2021, Joseph was given to just 77 babies, dropping it to 76 on the top 100 list.
Some 100 years ago, the biblical name John was the top name for boys and men, with nearly 350,000 documented in Scotland.
But in the century since the range of names has changed markedly, said Gerry Donnelly, who leads the Scotland’s People project at the NRS.
“By comparing the top 10 first names from the 1921 census with babies born in 2021, there are a few similarities but only for male names,” Mr Donnelly told PA.
“This reflects the trends in recent decades towards much more variation in the names we see.”
None of the names which are in the top 10 for the 1921 census featured in the most popular baby girls names 100 years on.
Isabella, which was sixth most popular in 1921, was 32nd for babies born last year with 121 registrations of girls with that name. For men and boys it is a slightly different story.
Comparing the first names of all males in the 1921 census with the names of baby boys born in 2021, James and Alexander are still in the top 10 and the most popular name for boys is Jack – historically a nickname for John.
Charlie and Archie are also high in the 2021 list, derivatives of Charles and Archibald which were common in 1921. Thomas remains a popular name. It came in at 19th last year and was sixth in the 1921 census.
But Daniel, which was the 20th in 1921, has fallen out of favour, with just 125 baby boys given the name in 2021, making it the 38th most popular.
Mr Donnelly said: “Our counts suggest that more than half of the people recorded in Scotland’s Census in 1921 had one of the top 10 names for males and females.”
Individual records from the census are kept confidential for 100 years, but the information can now be searched at the Scotland’s People family history website.
“Finding out what names were in your family can be surprising but it’s likely you will find some Marys and Johns,” said Mr Donnelly, who is Scotland’s People lead at the NRS.
The website now has all the records from the 1921 census online to search, allowing Scots to find their grandparents, great-grandparents or even earlier generations and see where they were living and what work they had.
“It’s a fascinating glimpse into the lives of a generation that did so much to build the world we live in today,” Mr Donnelly said.
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