Thirty years of Billie
Billie in numbers
Billie is still climbing: from 242 girls in 1996 to 331 in 2025, its highest count so far. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2022 and 2025, from 239 to 331. On average it was given to 199 girls a year in the late 1990s, 105 in the 2000s, 111 in the 2010s and 266 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
What the official statisticians said
“Billie saw an increase in popularity in 2020, the year after musician Billie Eilish released her debut album”
National Records of Scotland, on 2025 births in Scotland. Read the source
Quoted word for word from the official releases, including their own “may” and “could”. Baby Data has not added reasons of its own. Releases for Scotland and Northern Ireland are about babies there, not in England and Wales.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year+14%290 to 331
- 5 years+48%224 to 331
- 10 years+225%102 to 331
- 20 years+190%114 to 331
- Since 1996+37%242 to 331
- Total, 1996 to 20254,548girls
† 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 151 · ONS · 290 in 2024
Rank 100 · NRS · 34 in 2024
Rank 397 · NISRA · 4 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 | 151 | 331 | +14% | 1 in 860 |
| 2024 | =171 | 290 | -2% | 1 in 999 |
| 2023 | 174 | 296 | +24% | 1 in 973 |
| 2022 | =208 | 239 | +10% | 1 in 1,234 |
| 2021 | =229 | 218 | -3% | 1 in 1,398 |
| 2020 | 216 | 224 | +27% | 1 in 1,337 |
| 2019 | =275 | 177 | +28% | 1 in 1,759 |
| 2018 | =346 | 138 | -5% | 1 in 2,315 |
| 2017 | =329 | 146 | +19% | 1 in 2,267 |
| 2016 | =372 | 123 | +21% | 1 in 2,758 |
| 2015 | =432 | 102 | +2% | 1 in 3,330 |
| 2014 | =439 | 100 | +10% | 1 in 3,385 |
| 2013 * | =460 | 91 | +1% | 1 in 3,753 |
| 2012 | =487 | 90 | +55% | 1 in 3,948 |
| 2011 | =673 | 58 | -28% | 1 in 6,085 |
| 2010 | =505 | 80 | +18% | 1 in 4,402 |
| 2009 | =565 | 68 | -6% | 1 in 5,060 |
| 2008 | =532 | 72 | -23% | 1 in 4,802 |
| 2007 | =439 | 93 | -22% | 1 in 3,608 |
| 2006 | =357 | 120 | +5% | 1 in 2,726 |
| 2005 | =349 | 114 | +15% | 1 in 2,765 |
| 2004 | =384 | 99 | -18% | 1 in 3,145 |
| 2003 | =315 | 121 | +13% | 1 in 2,504 |
| 2002 | 339 | 107 | +0% | 1 in 2,711 |
| 2001 | =331 | 107 | -27% | 1 in 2,710 |
| 2000 | =268 | 147 | -22% | 1 in 2,005 |
| 1999 | 216 | 189 | -2% | 1 in 1,601 |
| 1998 | =216 | 193 | +12% | n/a |
| 1997 | =234 | 173 | -29% | 1 in 1,812 |
| 1996 | =182 | 242 | 1 in 1,306 |
* 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 Billie
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Billie 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