Thirty years of Ava
Ava in numbers
Ava peaked in 2012 with 3,779 girls and has fallen since, to 1,611 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2007 and 2010, from 1,377 to 3,438. It ranked 753rd in 1996, reached 3rd in 2018 and ranks 11th now. On average it was given to 52 girls a year in the late 1990s, 932 in the 2000s, 3,363 in the 2010s and 2,164 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-9%1,774 to 1,611
- 5 years-40%2,679 to 1,611
- 10 years-53%3,414 to 1,611
- 20 years+145%657 to 1,611
- Since 1996×5430 to 1,611
- Total, 1996 to 202556,136girls
† 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 11 · ONS · 1,774 in 2024
Rank 13 · NRS · 188 in 2024
Rank 20 · NISRA · 51 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 | 11 | 1,611 | -9% | 1 in 177 |
| 2024 | 9 | 1,774 | -13% | 1 in 163 |
| 2023 | 6 | 2,050 | -11% | 1 in 141 |
| 2022 | 4 | 2,293 | -11% | 1 in 129 |
| 2021 | 4 | 2,576 | -4% | 1 in 118 |
| 2020 | 4 | 2,679 | -9% | 1 in 112 |
| 2019 | 4 | 2,946 | -5% | 1 in 106 |
| 2018 | 3 | 3,110 | -5% | 1 in 103 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,289 | +0% | 1 in 101 |
| 2016 | 5 | 3,285 | -4% | 1 in 103 |
| 2015 | 5 | 3,414 | +8% | 1 in 100 |
| 2014 | 6 | 3,171 | -11% | 1 in 107 |
| 2013 * | 4 | 3,575 | -5% | 1 in 96 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,779 | +4% | 1 in 94 |
| 2011 | 9 | 3,621 | +5% | 1 in 97 |
| 2010 | 11 | 3,438 | +22% | 1 in 102 |
| 2009 | 12 | 2,827 | +22% | 1 in 122 |
| 2008 | 21 | 2,314 | +68% | 1 in 149 |
| 2007 | 38 | 1,377 | +43% | 1 in 244 |
| 2006 | 60 | 966 | +47% | 1 in 339 |
| 2005 | 82 | 657 | +90% | 1 in 480 |
| 2004 | 153 | 346 | +17% | 1 in 900 |
| 2003 | =164 | 295 | +38% | 1 in 1,027 |
| 2002 | =204 | 214 | +10% | 1 in 1,355 |
| 2001 | 205 | 194 | +50% | 1 in 1,495 |
| 2000 | =291 | 129 | +84% | 1 in 2,285 |
| 1999 | =429 | 70 | +37% | 1 in 4,323 |
| 1998 | =530 | 51 | -7% | n/a |
| 1997 | =500 | 55 | +83% | 1 in 5,700 |
| 1996 | =753 | 30 | 1 in 10,533 |
* ONS’s girls’ 2013 file repeats the May total as April, so the 2013 births total is about 1,360 too high and 1 in X for 2013 is slightly too high. 1 in X is not shown for girls in 1998: one monthly total is missing from the ONS girls’ 1998 file. 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 Ava
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Ava 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
Ava is in our lists: Short baby names.