Thirty years of Betsy
Betsy in numbers
Betsy has risen from 22 girls in 1996 to 278 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 420 in 2015. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2009 and 2012, from 84 to 302. On average it was given to 20 girls a year in the late 1990s, 44 in the 2000s, 335 in the 2010s and 247 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+33%209 to 278
- 5 years-0%279 to 278
- 10 years-34%420 to 278
- 20 years+467%49 to 278
- Since 1996×1322 to 278
- Total, 1996 to 20255,343girls
† 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 177 · ONS · 209 in 2024
Rank 780 · NRS · 3 in 2024
Rank 334 · 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 | =177 | 278 | +33% | 1 in 1,024 |
| 2024 | =227 | 209 | +14% | 1 in 1,386 |
| 2023 | 248 | 183 | -25% | 1 in 1,574 |
| 2022 | 204 | 245 | -14% | 1 in 1,204 |
| 2021 | 179 | 286 | +3% | 1 in 1,065 |
| 2020 | 179 | 279 | -21% | 1 in 1,073 |
| 2019 | 140 | 355 | -1% | 1 in 877 |
| 2018 | =145 | 357 | -13% | 1 in 895 |
| 2017 | =132 | 409 | +14% | 1 in 809 |
| 2016 | =154 | 359 | -15% | 1 in 945 |
| 2015 | 135 | 420 | +10% | 1 in 809 |
| 2014 | =144 | 382 | +9% | 1 in 886 |
| 2013 * | 151 | 350 | +16% | 1 in 976 |
| 2012 | =169 | 302 | +13% | 1 in 1,177 |
| 2011 | =193 | 268 | +82% | 1 in 1,317 |
| 2010 | =320 | 147 | +75% | 1 in 2,396 |
| 2009 | =483 | 84 | +45% | 1 in 4,096 |
| 2008 | =639 | 58 | -8% | 1 in 5,961 |
| 2007 | =570 | 63 | +26% | 1 in 5,325 |
| 2006 | =639 | 50 | +2% | 1 in 6,543 |
| 2005 | =634 | 49 | +9% | 1 in 6,433 |
| 2004 | =655 | 45 | +55% | 1 in 6,919 |
| 2003 | =876 | 29 | +7% | 1 in 10,449 |
| 2002 | =861 | 27 | +69% | 1 in 10,742 |
| 2001 | =1,238 | 16 | +7% | 1 in 18,124 |
| 2000 | =1,250 | 15 | -12% | 1 in 19,654 |
| 1999 | =1,160 | 17 | -41% | 1 in 17,800 |
| 1998 | =787 | 29 | +190% | n/a |
| 1997 | =1,666 | 10 | -55% | 1 in 31,351 |
| 1996 | =944 | 22 | 1 in 14,363 |
* 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 Betsy
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Betsy 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