Thirty years of Bobby
Bobby in numbers
Bobby peaked in 2012 with 1,186 boys and has fallen since, to 544 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2009 and 2012, from 615 to 1,186. It ranked 238th in 1996, reached 57th in 2012 and ranks 94th now. On average it was given to 110 boys a year in the late 1990s, 368 in the 2000s, 929 in the 2010s and 673 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-17%652 to 544
- 5 years-31%790 to 544
- 10 years-45%983 to 544
- 20 years+9%497 to 544
- Since 1996×4126 to 544
- Total, 1996 to 202517,448boys
† 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 94 · ONS · 652 in 2024
Rank 333 · NRS · 16 in 2024
Rank 126 · NISRA · 30 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 | =94 | 544 | -17% | 1 in 553 |
| 2024 | 82 | 652 | +14% | 1 in 468 |
| 2023 | 93 | 570 | -20% | 1 in 532 |
| 2022 | 80 | 712 | -8% | 1 in 436 |
| 2021 | 73 | 772 | -2% | 1 in 415 |
| 2020 | 70 | 790 | -13% | 1 in 398 |
| 2019 | 68 | 903 | +4% | 1 in 364 |
| 2018 | 73 | 872 | -9% | 1 in 387 |
| 2017 | 65 | 955 | +23% | 1 in 364 |
| 2016 * | 90 | 775 | -21% | 1 in 459 |
| 2015 | 67 | 983 | +7% | 1 in 364 |
| 2014 | 71 | 922 | -12% | 1 in 387 |
| 2013 | 59 | 1,049 | -12% | 1 in 342 |
| 2012 | 57 | 1,186 | +36% | 1 in 316 |
| 2011 | 76 | 869 | +12% | 1 in 427 |
| 2010 | 83 | 773 | +26% | 1 in 480 |
| 2009 | =104 | 615 | +15% | 1 in 589 |
| 2008 | 110 | 533 | +4% | 1 in 681 |
| 2007 | 112 | 513 | +2% | 1 in 691 |
| 2006 | 113 | 502 | +1% | 1 in 682 |
| 2005 | 112 | 497 | -8% | 1 in 665 |
| 2004 | 103 | 539 | +185% | 1 in 609 |
| 2003 | 200 | 189 | +101% | 1 in 1,685 |
| 2002 | =294 | 94 | -5% | 1 in 3,256 |
| 2001 | =277 | 99 | +0% | 1 in 3,077 |
| 2000 | =273 | 99 | +2% | 1 in 3,127 |
| 1999 | 282 | 97 | -10% | 1 in 3,291 |
| 1998 | 262 | 108 | -2% | 1 in 3,018 |
| 1997 | =259 | 110 | -13% | 1 in 2,996 |
| 1996 | 238 | 126 | 1 in 2,647 |
* 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 Bobby
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Bobby 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