Thirty years of Felicity
Felicity in numbers
Felicity has risen from 126 girls in 1996 to 330 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 570 in 2016. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2012 and 2015, from 302 to 517. It ranked 295th in 1996, reached 97th in 2016 and ranks 152nd now. On average it was given to 107 girls a year in the late 1990s, 188 in the 2000s, 430 in the 2010s and 380 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-1%332 to 330
- 5 years-32%488 to 330
- 10 years-36%517 to 330
- 20 years+94%170 to 330
- Since 1996×3126 to 330
- Total, 1996 to 20258,884girls
† 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 152 · ONS · 332 in 2024
Rank 359 · NRS · 6 in 2024
Rank 231 · 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 | 152 | 330 | -1% | 1 in 863 |
| 2024 | 153 | 332 | -5% | 1 in 873 |
| 2023 | 141 | 349 | -7% | 1 in 825 |
| 2022 | 136 | 375 | -8% | 1 in 786 |
| 2021 | =123 | 406 | -17% | 1 in 751 |
| 2020 | 103 | 488 | -6% | 1 in 614 |
| 2019 | 100 | 519 | -1% | 1 in 600 |
| 2018 | 100 | 522 | -2% | 1 in 612 |
| 2017 | 102 | 533 | -6% | 1 in 621 |
| 2016 | 97 | 570 | +10% | 1 in 595 |
| 2015 | =111 | 517 | +25% | 1 in 657 |
| 2014 | =132 | 412 | +10% | 1 in 821 |
| 2013 * | 141 | 373 | +24% | 1 in 915 |
| 2012 | =169 | 302 | +4% | 1 in 1,177 |
| 2011 | 178 | 289 | +10% | 1 in 1,221 |
| 2010 | =195 | 262 | +7% | 1 in 1,344 |
| 2009 | 209 | 244 | +13% | 1 in 1,410 |
| 2008 | 231 | 215 | -2% | 1 in 1,608 |
| 2007 | 233 | 219 | +34% | 1 in 1,532 |
| 2006 | =281 | 164 | -4% | 1 in 1,995 |
| 2005 | 265 | 170 | -5% | 1 in 1,854 |
| 2004 | 250 | 179 | -11% | 1 in 1,740 |
| 2003 | 229 | 202 | +22% | 1 in 1,500 |
| 2002 | 243 | 165 | -11% | 1 in 1,758 |
| 2001 | =214 | 186 | +41% | 1 in 1,559 |
| 2000 | =285 | 132 | +38% | 1 in 2,233 |
| 1999 | 337 | 96 | -12% | 1 in 3,152 |
| 1998 | =325 | 109 | +11% | n/a |
| 1997 | =344 | 98 | -22% | 1 in 3,199 |
| 1996 | 295 | 126 | 1 in 2,508 |
* 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 Felicity
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Felicity 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