Thirty years of Ayla
Ayla in numbers
Ayla is still climbing: from 30 girls in 1996 to 980 in 2025, its highest count so far. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2019 and 2022, from 631 to 921. It ranked 753rd in 1996 and reached 42nd in 2025, its best place so far. On average it was given to 29 girls a year in the late 1990s, 67 in the 2000s, 377 in the 2010s and 863 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+6%922 to 980
- 5 years+32%744 to 980
- 10 years+151%390 to 980
- 20 years+1,822%51 to 980
- Since 1996×3330 to 980
- Total, 1996 to 20259,731girls
† 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 42 · ONS · 922 in 2024
Rank 41 · NRS · 90 in 2024
Rank 82 · NISRA · 27 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 | 42 | 980 | +6% | 1 in 290 |
| 2024 | 47 | 922 | +13% | 1 in 314 |
| 2023 | 54 | 817 | -11% | 1 in 353 |
| 2022 | 51 | 921 | +16% | 1 in 320 |
| 2021 | 67 | 793 | +7% | 1 in 384 |
| 2020 | =70 | 744 | +18% | 1 in 403 |
| 2019 | =84 | 631 | +13% | 1 in 493 |
| 2018 | 95 | 556 | +8% | 1 in 575 |
| 2017 | 106 | 517 | +15% | 1 in 640 |
| 2016 | 128 | 449 | +15% | 1 in 755 |
| 2015 | 143 | 390 | +17% | 1 in 871 |
| 2014 | 165 | 333 | +10% | 1 in 1,016 |
| 2013 * | 172 | 304 | +18% | 1 in 1,123 |
| 2012 | 194 | 257 | +42% | 1 in 1,383 |
| 2011 | =270 | 181 | +17% | 1 in 1,950 |
| 2010 | =305 | 155 | +41% | 1 in 2,272 |
| 2009 | =384 | 110 | -19% | 1 in 3,128 |
| 2008 | 329 | 136 | +39% | 1 in 2,542 |
| 2007 | =419 | 98 | +15% | 1 in 3,423 |
| 2006 | =456 | 85 | +67% | 1 in 3,849 |
| 2005 | =615 | 51 | +2% | 1 in 6,181 |
| 2004 | =607 | 50 | +35% | 1 in 6,227 |
| 2003 | =742 | 37 | -12% | 1 in 8,190 |
| 2002 | =643 | 42 | +40% | 1 in 6,906 |
| 2001 | =796 | 30 | +7% | 1 in 9,666 |
| 2000 | =804 | 28 | +0% | 1 in 10,529 |
| 1999 | =794 | 28 | +8% | 1 in 10,807 |
| 1998 | =846 | 26 | -13% | n/a |
| 1997 | =770 | 30 | +0% | 1 in 10,450 |
| 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 Ayla
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Ayla 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
Ayla is in our lists: Short baby names.