Thirty years of Barnaby
Barnaby in numbers
Barnaby has climbed from 113 boys in 1996 to 273 in 2025, close to its peak of 285 in 2014. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2022 and 2025, from 177 to 273. On average it was given to 104 boys a year in the late 1990s, 141 in the 2000s, 237 in the 2010s and 228 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+7%254 to 273
- 5 years+14%240 to 273
- 10 years-3%280 to 273
- 20 years+80%152 to 273
- Since 1996×2113 to 273
- Total, 1996 to 20255,557boys
† 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 185 · ONS · 254 in 2024
Rank 647 · NRS · 3 in 2024
Fewer than 3 babies, or not published · 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 | 185 | 273 | +7% | 1 in 1,102 |
| 2024 | =195 | 254 | +26% | 1 in 1,201 |
| 2023 | 241 | 201 | +14% | 1 in 1,508 |
| 2022 | 265 | 177 | -20% | 1 in 1,755 |
| 2021 | 229 | 222 | -7% | 1 in 1,442 |
| 2020 | =213 | 240 | +27% | 1 in 1,310 |
| 2019 | =259 | 189 | -7% | 1 in 1,741 |
| 2018 | =251 | 204 | -11% | 1 in 1,655 |
| 2017 | 233 | 230 | -4% | 1 in 1,513 |
| 2016 * | =235 | 240 | -14% | 1 in 1,484 |
| 2015 | =207 | 280 | -2% | 1 in 1,279 |
| 2014 | =199 | 285 | +14% | 1 in 1,252 |
| 2013 | 212 | 251 | -3% | 1 in 1,428 |
| 2012 | =211 | 258 | +21% | 1 in 1,451 |
| 2011 | 228 | 214 | +0% | 1 in 1,733 |
| 2010 | =224 | 214 | +20% | 1 in 1,733 |
| 2009 | =247 | 178 | +2% | 1 in 2,034 |
| 2008 | =247 | 175 | +12% | 1 in 2,074 |
| 2007 | =259 | 156 | -4% | 1 in 2,272 |
| 2006 | 236 | 162 | +7% | 1 in 2,114 |
| 2005 | 234 | 152 | +2% | 1 in 2,175 |
| 2004 | =231 | 149 | +17% | 1 in 2,204 |
| 2003 | 248 | 127 | +20% | 1 in 2,507 |
| 2002 | =267 | 106 | -1% | 1 in 2,887 |
| 2001 | =259 | 107 | +11% | 1 in 2,847 |
| 2000 | =285 | 96 | +2% | 1 in 3,225 |
| 1999 | =290 | 94 | -9% | 1 in 3,396 |
| 1998 | =270 | 103 | -4% | 1 in 3,164 |
| 1997 | =263 | 107 | -5% | 1 in 3,080 |
| 1996 | =251 | 113 | 1 in 2,951 |
* 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 Barnaby
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Barnaby 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