Thirty years of Ahmed
Ahmed in numbers
Ahmed has held steady for thirty years: never fewer than 174 boys a year and never more than 377. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2000 and 2003, from 177 to 303. On average it was given to 192 boys a year in the late 1990s, 285 in the 2000s, 319 in the 2010s and 264 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Ahmad (229). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Ahmed.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year+3%292 to 300
- 5 years+22%245 to 300
- 10 years-6%320 to 300
- 20 years+1%297 to 300
- Since 1996+46%206 to 300
- Total, 1996 to 20258,394boys
† 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 168 · ONS · 292 in 2024
Rank 269 · NRS · 9 in 2024
Rank 270 · NISRA · 4 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 | =168 | 300 | +3% | 1 in 1,002 |
| 2024 | =173 | 292 | +14% | 1 in 1,044 |
| 2023 | 196 | 256 | +8% | 1 in 1,184 |
| 2022 | 215 | 238 | -6% | 1 in 1,305 |
| 2021 | 209 | 254 | +4% | 1 in 1,260 |
| 2020 | =205 | 245 | -0% | 1 in 1,284 |
| 2019 | =208 | 246 | -13% | 1 in 1,338 |
| 2018 | =185 | 284 | -12% | 1 in 1,189 |
| 2017 | 172 | 321 | -5% | 1 in 1,084 |
| 2016 * | 171 | 338 | +6% | 1 in 1,054 |
| 2015 | 183 | 320 | +5% | 1 in 1,119 |
| 2014 | 185 | 306 | -11% | 1 in 1,166 |
| 2013 | 162 | 345 | -8% | 1 in 1,039 |
| 2012 | 157 | 377 | +18% | 1 in 993 |
| 2011 | 175 | 320 | -4% | 1 in 1,159 |
| 2010 | =167 | 335 | -3% | 1 in 1,107 |
| 2009 | 162 | 344 | -2% | 1 in 1,053 |
| 2008 | 156 | 350 | +7% | 1 in 1,037 |
| 2007 | 161 | 327 | +8% | 1 in 1,084 |
| 2006 | 160 | 304 | +2% | 1 in 1,126 |
| 2005 | 157 | 297 | +8% | 1 in 1,113 |
| 2004 | 163 | 275 | -9% | 1 in 1,194 |
| 2003 | 150 | 303 | +23% | 1 in 1,051 |
| 2002 | 160 | 247 | +10% | 1 in 1,239 |
| 2001 | =163 | 225 | +27% | 1 in 1,354 |
| 2000 | =188 | 177 | -12% | 1 in 1,749 |
| 1999 | 169 | 201 | +7% | 1 in 1,588 |
| 1998 | =179 | 187 | +7% | 1 in 1,743 |
| 1997 | =184 | 174 | -16% | 1 in 1,894 |
| 1996 | 164 | 206 | 1 in 1,619 |
* 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 Ahmed
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Ahmed 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