Thirty years of Ezra
Ezra in numbers
Ezra has climbed from 25 boys in 1996 to 1,300 in 2025, close to its peak of 1,345 in 2023. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2015 and 2018, from 502 to 1,118. It ranked 633rd in 1996, reached 38th in 2023 and is still 38th. On average it was given to 30 boys a year in the late 1990s, 45 in the 2000s, 503 in the 2010s and 1,255 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
What the official statisticians said
“The name rose in prominence at around the same time that musician George Ezra achieved widespread fame”
ONS, on 2021 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-3%1,339 to 1,300
- 5 years+18%1,105 to 1,300
- 10 years+159%502 to 1,300
- 20 years+2,855%44 to 1,300
- Since 1996×5225 to 1,300
- Total, 1996 to 202513,138boys
† 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 38 · ONS · 1,339 in 2024
Rank 111 · NRS · 57 in 2024
Rank 42 · NISRA · 49 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 | 38 | 1,300 | -3% | 1 in 231 |
| 2024 | 38 | 1,339 | -0% | 1 in 228 |
| 2023 | 38 | 1,345 | +11% | 1 in 225 |
| 2022 | 46 | 1,217 | -1% | 1 in 255 |
| 2021 | 51 | 1,226 | +11% | 1 in 261 |
| 2020 | 59 | 1,105 | +0% | 1 in 285 |
| 2019 | 60 | 1,105 | -1% | 1 in 298 |
| 2018 | 59 | 1,118 | +35% | 1 in 302 |
| 2017 | 81 | 827 | +8% | 1 in 421 |
| 2016 * | 91 | 763 | +52% | 1 in 467 |
| 2015 | 127 | 502 | +89% | 1 in 713 |
| 2014 | =213 | 266 | +76% | 1 in 1,341 |
| 2013 | =295 | 151 | +26% | 1 in 2,373 |
| 2012 | =359 | 120 | +40% | 1 in 3,119 |
| 2011 | =441 | 86 | -10% | 1 in 4,314 |
| 2010 | =406 | 96 | +28% | 1 in 3,864 |
| 2009 | =476 | 75 | +9% | 1 in 4,828 |
| 2008 | =500 | 69 | +21% | 1 in 5,260 |
| 2007 | =543 | 57 | +14% | 1 in 6,219 |
| 2006 | =582 | 50 | +14% | 1 in 6,848 |
| 2005 | =605 | 44 | +29% | 1 in 7,513 |
| 2004 | =688 | 34 | -8% | 1 in 9,657 |
| 2003 | =599 | 37 | +48% | 1 in 8,606 |
| 2002 | =753 | 25 | +32% | 1 in 12,242 |
| 2001 | =883 | 19 | -54% | 1 in 16,032 |
| 2000 | =480 | 41 | +24% | 1 in 7,551 |
| 1999 | =563 | 33 | +3% | 1 in 9,674 |
| 1998 | =571 | 32 | +3% | 1 in 10,184 |
| 1997 | =567 | 31 | +24% | 1 in 10,631 |
| 1996 | =633 | 25 | 1 in 13,339 |
* 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 Ezra
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Ezra 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
Ezra is in our lists: Short baby names.