Thirty years of Abel
Abel in numbers
Abel has risen from 9 boys in 1996 to 261 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 345 in 2023. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2014 and 2017, from 134 to 276. On average it was given to 12 boys a year in the late 1990s, 29 in the 2000s, 158 in the 2010s and 292 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Abiel (10). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Abel.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-14%302 to 261
- 5 years+8%242 to 261
- 10 years+60%163 to 261
- 20 years+944%25 to 261
- Since 1996×299 to 261
- Total, 1996 to 20253,660boys
† 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 195 · ONS · 302 in 2024
Rank 190 · NRS · 10 in 2024
Rank 270 · NISRA · 10 in 2024
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 | =195 | 261 | -14% | 1 in 1,152 |
| 2024 | =166 | 302 | -12% | 1 in 1,010 |
| 2023 | 153 | 345 | +15% | 1 in 878 |
| 2022 | 171 | 300 | -0% | 1 in 1,035 |
| 2021 | 178 | 301 | +24% | 1 in 1,064 |
| 2020 | 210 | 242 | +7% | 1 in 1,299 |
| 2019 | 224 | 226 | -4% | 1 in 1,456 |
| 2018 | 220 | 235 | -15% | 1 in 1,437 |
| 2017 | 196 | 276 | +12% | 1 in 1,261 |
| 2016 * | =227 | 247 | +52% | 1 in 1,442 |
| 2015 | =290 | 163 | +22% | 1 in 2,197 |
| 2014 | =335 | 134 | +25% | 1 in 2,662 |
| 2013 | =379 | 107 | +62% | 1 in 3,349 |
| 2012 | =549 | 66 | -8% | 1 in 5,672 |
| 2011 | =501 | 72 | +47% | 1 in 5,152 |
| 2010 | =653 | 49 | +48% | 1 in 7,570 |
| 2009 | =848 | 33 | -11% | 1 in 10,973 |
| 2008 | =775 | 37 | -7% | 1 in 9,809 |
| 2007 | =698 | 40 | -15% | 1 in 8,862 |
| 2006 | =608 | 47 | +88% | 1 in 7,285 |
| 2005 | =891 | 25 | -19% | 1 in 13,223 |
| 2004 | =731 | 31 | +63% | 1 in 10,591 |
| 2003 | =976 | 19 | +6% | 1 in 16,759 |
| 2002 | =950 | 18 | +29% | 1 in 17,003 |
| 2001 | =1,078 | 14 | -33% | 1 in 21,758 |
| 2000 | =794 | 21 | +110% | 1 in 14,743 |
| 1999 | =1,281 | 10 | -38% | 1 in 31,924 |
| 1998 | =924 | 16 | +14% | 1 in 20,369 |
| 1997 | =1,010 | 14 | +56% | 1 in 23,540 |
| 1996 | =1,337 | 9 | 1 in 37,053 |
* 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 Abel
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Abel 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