Thirty years of Beau
Beau in numbers
Beau dipped to 20 boys in 2000 and has come back to 487 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2018 and 2021, from 268 to 507. On average it was given to 31 boys a year in the late 1990s, 122 in the 2000s, 306 in the 2010s and 468 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+2%477 to 487
- 5 years+16%419 to 487
- 10 years+63%298 to 487
- 20 years+272%131 to 487
- Since 1996×1241 to 487
- Total, 1996 to 20257,209boys
† 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 108 · ONS · 477 in 2024
Rank 243 · NRS · 28 in 2024
Rank 149 · NISRA · 13 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 | 108 | 487 | +2% | 1 in 617 |
| 2024 | 110 | 477 | +0% | 1 in 639 |
| 2023 | =109 | 475 | +7% | 1 in 638 |
| 2022 | 125 | 444 | -12% | 1 in 700 |
| 2021 | 113 | 507 | +21% | 1 in 631 |
| 2020 | 131 | 419 | +31% | 1 in 751 |
| 2019 | =167 | 321 | +20% | 1 in 1,025 |
| 2018 | 201 | 268 | -15% | 1 in 1,260 |
| 2017 | =177 | 315 | +5% | 1 in 1,105 |
| 2016 * | 185 | 301 | +1% | 1 in 1,183 |
| 2015 | 193 | 298 | -1% | 1 in 1,202 |
| 2014 | =187 | 302 | -5% | 1 in 1,181 |
| 2013 | 175 | 318 | -7% | 1 in 1,127 |
| 2012 | =172 | 341 | +15% | 1 in 1,098 |
| 2011 | 187 | 296 | -1% | 1 in 1,253 |
| 2010 | 180 | 300 | +2% | 1 in 1,237 |
| 2009 | 178 | 295 | +39% | 1 in 1,228 |
| 2008 | =217 | 212 | +48% | 1 in 1,712 |
| 2007 | 280 | 143 | +16% | 1 in 2,479 |
| 2006 | 290 | 123 | -6% | 1 in 2,784 |
| 2005 | 259 | 131 | +24% | 1 in 2,523 |
| 2004 | =288 | 106 | +25% | 1 in 3,097 |
| 2003 | =326 | 85 | +52% | 1 in 3,746 |
| 2002 | =403 | 56 | +22% | 1 in 5,465 |
| 2001 | =452 | 46 | +130% | 1 in 6,622 |
| 2000 | =817 | 20 | -17% | 1 in 15,481 |
| 1999 | =697 | 24 | -20% | 1 in 13,302 |
| 1998 | =600 | 30 | +7% | 1 in 10,863 |
| 1997 | =600 | 28 | -32% | 1 in 11,770 |
| 1996 | =458 | 41 | 1 in 8,134 |
* 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 Beau
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Beau 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