Thirty years of Elizabeth
Elizabeth in numbers
Elizabeth peaked in 1996 with 2,225 girls and has fallen since, to 624 in 2025. Its biggest three-year fall came between 1996 and 1999, from 2,225 to 1,652. It ranked 26th in 1996 and ranks 74th now. On average it was given to 1,868 girls a year in the late 1990s, 1,500 in the 2000s, 1,286 in the 2010s and 753 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
What the official statisticians said
“Elizabeth has maintained a top 50 spot from the 1940s through to 2007”
General Register Office, on 2007 births in England and Wales. 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-12%706 to 624
- 5 years-28%866 to 624
- 10 years-53%1,338 to 624
- 20 years-57%1,435 to 624
- Since 1996-72%2,225 to 624
- Total, 1996 to 202539,849girls
† 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 74 · ONS · 706 in 2024
Rank 116 · NRS · 39 in 2024
Rank 121 · NISRA · 24 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 | 74 | 624 | -12% | 1 in 456 |
| 2024 | 62 | 706 | +6% | 1 in 410 |
| 2023 | 68 | 666 | -16% | 1 in 432 |
| 2022 | 60 | 795 | -8% | 1 in 371 |
| 2021 | 60 | 862 | -0% | 1 in 353 |
| 2020 | 56 | 866 | -7% | 1 in 346 |
| 2019 | 55 | 933 | -13% | 1 in 334 |
| 2018 | 47 | 1,076 | -8% | 1 in 297 |
| 2017 | 44 | 1,174 | -15% | 1 in 282 |
| 2016 | 38 | 1,384 | +3% | 1 in 245 |
| 2015 | 39 | 1,338 | -4% | 1 in 254 |
| 2014 | 37 | 1,398 | +3% | 1 in 242 |
| 2013 * | 39 | 1,357 | -6% | 1 in 252 |
| 2012 | 38 | 1,446 | +4% | 1 in 246 |
| 2011 | 44 | 1,396 | +3% | 1 in 253 |
| 2010 | 49 | 1,356 | -3% | 1 in 260 |
| 2009 | 43 | 1,404 | -7% | 1 in 245 |
| 2008 | 40 | 1,509 | +7% | 1 in 229 |
| 2007 | 36 | 1,409 | -5% | 1 in 238 |
| 2006 | 41 | 1,476 | +3% | 1 in 222 |
| 2005 | 42 | 1,435 | -5% | 1 in 220 |
| 2004 | 35 | 1,515 | -2% | 1 in 206 |
| 2003 | 32 | 1,539 | -5% | 1 in 197 |
| 2002 | 30 | 1,624 | +6% | 1 in 179 |
| 2001 | 33 | 1,538 | -1% | 1 in 189 |
| 2000 | 33 | 1,552 | -6% | 1 in 190 |
| 1999 | 33 | 1,652 | -3% | 1 in 183 |
| 1998 | 30 | 1,702 | -10% | n/a |
| 1997 | 30 | 1,892 | -15% | 1 in 166 |
| 1996 | 26 | 2,225 | 1 in 142 |
* 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 Elizabeth
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Elizabeth 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