Thirty years of Alfred
Alfred in numbers
Alfred has climbed from 142 boys in 1996 to 682 in 2025, close to its peak of 739 in 2021. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2012 and 2015, from 375 to 552. It ranked 218th in 1996, reached 76th in 2023 and ranks 76th now. On average it was given to 185 boys a year in the late 1990s, 329 in the 2000s, 506 in the 2010s and 683 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+4%657 to 682
- 5 years+7%635 to 682
- 10 years+24%552 to 682
- 20 years+143%281 to 682
- Since 1996×5142 to 682
- Total, 1996 to 202513,182boys
† 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 76 · ONS · 657 in 2024
Rank 226 · NRS · 14 in 2024
Rank 344 · 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 | 76 | 682 | +4% | 1 in 441 |
| 2024 | 81 | 657 | -3% | 1 in 464 |
| 2023 | =76 | 678 | -4% | 1 in 447 |
| 2022 | 81 | 706 | -4% | 1 in 440 |
| 2021 | 80 | 739 | +16% | 1 in 433 |
| 2020 | 91 | 635 | -2% | 1 in 495 |
| 2019 | 97 | 645 | +5% | 1 in 510 |
| 2018 | 106 | 616 | +4% | 1 in 548 |
| 2017 | 107 | 592 | +1% | 1 in 588 |
| 2016 * | 111 | 589 | +7% | 1 in 605 |
| 2015 | 114 | 552 | +8% | 1 in 649 |
| 2014 | 125 | 511 | +19% | 1 in 698 |
| 2013 | 136 | 430 | +15% | 1 in 833 |
| 2012 | 158 | 375 | +3% | 1 in 998 |
| 2011 | 158 | 365 | -5% | 1 in 1,016 |
| 2010 | 154 | 384 | -2% | 1 in 966 |
| 2009 | 146 | 391 | -10% | 1 in 926 |
| 2008 | =129 | 436 | +11% | 1 in 832 |
| 2007 | 140 | 392 | +21% | 1 in 904 |
| 2006 | 151 | 325 | +16% | 1 in 1,054 |
| 2005 | 166 | 281 | +16% | 1 in 1,176 |
| 2004 | 171 | 242 | -38% | 1 in 1,357 |
| 2003 | 125 | 389 | +31% | 1 in 819 |
| 2002 | =142 | 298 | +14% | 1 in 1,027 |
| 2001 | 149 | 262 | -4% | 1 in 1,163 |
| 2000 | =139 | 272 | +16% | 1 in 1,138 |
| 1999 | 150 | 234 | +21% | 1 in 1,364 |
| 1998 | =174 | 193 | +14% | 1 in 1,689 |
| 1997 | =192 | 169 | +19% | 1 in 1,950 |
| 1996 | =218 | 142 | 1 in 2,348 |
* 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 Alfred
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Alfred 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