Thirty years of Esther
Esther in numbers
Esther has held steady for thirty years: never fewer than 198 girls a year and never more than 380. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2003 and 2006, from 239 to 344. On average it was given to 233 girls a year in the late 1990s, 281 in the 2000s, 343 in the 2010s and 323 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-3%343 to 333
- 5 years+10%303 to 333
- 10 years-5%352 to 333
- 20 years+13%295 to 333
- Since 1996+44%231 to 333
- Total, 1996 to 20259,104girls
† 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 150 · ONS · 343 in 2024
Rank 204 · NRS · 14 in 2024
Rank 259 · 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 | 150 | 333 | -3% | 1 in 855 |
| 2024 | 145 | 343 | +1% | 1 in 845 |
| 2023 | =146 | 338 | +10% | 1 in 852 |
| 2022 | =160 | 308 | -1% | 1 in 957 |
| 2021 | 166 | 311 | +3% | 1 in 980 |
| 2020 | =167 | 303 | +10% | 1 in 988 |
| 2019 | 180 | 276 | -12% | 1 in 1,128 |
| 2018 | 173 | 312 | -18% | 1 in 1,024 |
| 2017 | 141 | 380 | +1% | 1 in 871 |
| 2016 | 146 | 375 | +7% | 1 in 905 |
| 2015 | =154 | 352 | -2% | 1 in 965 |
| 2014 | 152 | 361 | +10% | 1 in 938 |
| 2013 * | =157 | 329 | -4% | 1 in 1,038 |
| 2012 | 156 | 342 | -7% | 1 in 1,039 |
| 2011 | 148 | 368 | +10% | 1 in 959 |
| 2010 | =156 | 334 | +14% | 1 in 1,054 |
| 2009 | 182 | 292 | -21% | 1 in 1,178 |
| 2008 | =146 | 369 | +6% | 1 in 937 |
| 2007 | =156 | 348 | +1% | 1 in 964 |
| 2006 | =152 | 344 | +17% | 1 in 951 |
| 2005 | =173 | 295 | +4% | 1 in 1,069 |
| 2004 | =176 | 283 | +18% | 1 in 1,100 |
| 2003 | 194 | 239 | +21% | 1 in 1,268 |
| 2002 | =217 | 198 | -10% | 1 in 1,465 |
| 2001 | =187 | 219 | -1% | 1 in 1,324 |
| 2000 | =192 | 221 | -8% | 1 in 1,334 |
| 1999 | 185 | 239 | +1% | 1 in 1,266 |
| 1998 | 182 | 236 | +5% | n/a |
| 1997 | 194 | 225 | -3% | 1 in 1,393 |
| 1996 | 191 | 231 | 1 in 1,368 |
* 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 Esther
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Esther 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