Thirty years of Abdul
Abdul in numbers
Abdul has held steady for thirty years: never fewer than 201 boys a year and never more than 340. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2021 and 2024, from 214 to 338. On average it was given to 225 boys a year in the late 1990s, 281 in the 2000s, 290 in the 2010s and 264 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-14%338 to 292
- 5 years+21%241 to 292
- 10 years-3%300 to 292
- 20 years+5%279 to 292
- Since 1996+45%201 to 292
- Total, 1996 to 20258,200boys
† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.
Across the three nations, 2025
Each from its own statistics office, never added togetherRank 177 · ONS · 338 in 2024
Rank 441 · NRS · 12 in 2024
Fewer than 3 babies, or not published · NISRA
England and Wales (ONS) count births in the calendar year; Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland (NISRA) count births registered in the year. Each comes from its own statistics office and they are never added together.
Year by year, 1996 to 2025 Show all 30 yearsHide the table
| Year | Rank | Babies | Change† | 1 in X† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 177 | 292 | -14% | 1 in 1,030 |
| 2024 | 152 | 338 | +26% | 1 in 902 |
| 2023 | =189 | 268 | +18% | 1 in 1,131 |
| 2022 | =220 | 228 | +7% | 1 in 1,362 |
| 2021 | =234 | 214 | -11% | 1 in 1,496 |
| 2020 | =211 | 241 | -6% | 1 in 1,305 |
| 2019 | 200 | 256 | -8% | 1 in 1,286 |
| 2018 | 191 | 278 | +9% | 1 in 1,214 |
| 2017 | 206 | 254 | -6% | 1 in 1,370 |
| 2016 * | =207 | 271 | -10% | 1 in 1,314 |
| 2015 | 190 | 300 | -2% | 1 in 1,194 |
| 2014 | =182 | 307 | +2% | 1 in 1,162 |
| 2013 | 187 | 300 | -4% | 1 in 1,195 |
| 2012 | 182 | 314 | +11% | 1 in 1,192 |
| 2011 | 190 | 284 | -16% | 1 in 1,306 |
| 2010 | 163 | 340 | +8% | 1 in 1,091 |
| 2009 | 169 | 316 | +6% | 1 in 1,146 |
| 2008 | 170 | 298 | +0% | 1 in 1,218 |
| 2007 | 169 | 298 | -4% | 1 in 1,189 |
| 2006 | 158 | 312 | +12% | 1 in 1,097 |
| 2005 | 167 | 279 | -1% | 1 in 1,185 |
| 2004 | 160 | 281 | -9% | 1 in 1,168 |
| 2003 | =146 | 308 | +18% | 1 in 1,034 |
| 2002 | 153 | 260 | +12% | 1 in 1,177 |
| 2001 | 160 | 232 | +1% | 1 in 1,313 |
| 2000 | =158 | 230 | +1% | 1 in 1,346 |
| 1999 | 155 | 227 | -3% | 1 in 1,406 |
| 1998 | 151 | 234 | -2% | 1 in 1,393 |
| 1997 | 148 | 239 | +19% | 1 in 1,379 |
| 1996 | 173 | 201 | 1 in 1,659 |
* ONS’s boys’ 2016 file repeats the October total as September, so the 2016 births total is about 932 too low and 1 in X for 2016 is slightly too low. Rank follows ONS: names with the same count share a rank (shown with =). “Under 3” means the name was given to fewer than 3 babies that year, so ONS did not publish it.
Compare Abdul
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Abdul is in the free dataset (CSV and JSON), with the method and how to cite it.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; National Records of Scotland; NISRA. Exact spellings are counted separately and names given to fewer than 3 babies are not published. Figures marked † are Baby Data calculations. How we calculate