Jack and Chloe keep top spot

About 48,000 births were registered in Scotland in 2002

Jack and Chloe remain the two most popular names for babies born in Scotland, according to statistics for 2002.

It is the fourth year running they have made it to top spot, but the name Sophie significantly closed the gap on Chloe with a move from ninth to second place.

There was no change in the top five for boys - all were the same as for 2001 - with Lewis remaining second for the third successive year.

Traditional names such as Andrew, David, Victoria and Sara are losing favour, but Liam, Matthew and Ellie have all moved into the top 10.

TOP 10 BOYS' NAMES

1. Jack

2. Lewis

3. Cameron

4. Ryan

5. James

6. Jamie

7. Liam

8. Matthew

9. Ross

10. Callum

Ben is up nine places to 13th, Nathan went up eight places to 20th, Joshua rose seven places to 23rd and Aaron and Josh also moved significantly up the table, published by the General Register Office for Scotland.

Two boys' names which were popular over the last decade, Jordon and Craig, have dropped more than 10 places and Greg, Martin, Alistair, Nicholas and Anthony have disappeared from the top 100.

For boys, the biggest jump in placings has been for Charlie (up 31 places to 78th), which also figures in the girls' top 100.

Charlie was popular for both boys and girls

By mid-December 2002, more than 24,500 boys' names had been registered, with nearly 2,000 different first names being used.

The top 50 names accounted for just over 60% of the total.

Last year Chloe was substantially more popular than any other name, but this year other names such as Sophie, Emma and Amy closed the gap considerably.

Another big advance was made by Ellie (up 11 places to sixth). Other big movers in the top 50 were Louise (up 16 places to 28th) and Jennifer (up 11 places to 29th).

Alicia jumps forward

Lauren has had a significant drop in popularity in 2002 (down six places to 8th), while Shannon (down 7 places to 23rd), Olivia (down 10 places to 35th), Cara (down 14 places to 42nd) and Beth (down 13 places to 50th) have dropped sharply.

The biggest jump in placings for girls' names was Alicia, which moved up to 82nd place from a distant 168th place last year - a jump of 86 places.

TOP 10 GIRLS' NAMES

1. Chloe

2. Sophie

3. Emma

4. Amy

5. Erin

6. Ellie

7. Rachel

8. Lauren

9. Megan

10. Hannah

By mid December 2002, just under 23,500 girls had been registered, with more than 3,000 different names being used.

The top 50 girls' names accounted for just less than half of the registrations.

The names of showbiz stars, and the names they give their children, can have a bearing on what appears on the list issued each year.

Pop Idol competitor Darius Danesh, from Glasgow, might have had some influence on the parents of 22 boys born in England and Wales who chose Darius as a name for their child.

Second names

However, no child in Scotland was named Darius in 2002.

James, John, William and Alexander were popular second names for boys, and Louise and Elizabeth were popular second names for girls.

In terms of Scotland's council areas, Jack was the top boys' name in 16 of the 32 council areas, with Lewis being top in 11 of the areas.

Chloe was the top girls' name in nine council areas, while Sophie was top in six and Amy was top in four.

In England and Wales, Jack and Chloe also secured top place. Further details can be found on the Office for National Statistics website.