Thirty years of Francis
Francis in numbers
Francis has held steady for thirty years: never fewer than 150 boys a year and never more than 264. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2011 and 2014, from 153 to 255. On average it was given to 172 boys a year in the late 1990s, 169 in the 2000s, 217 in the 2010s and 243 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+2%257 to 262
- 5 years+10%238 to 262
- 10 years+11%237 to 262
- 20 years+52%172 to 262
- Since 1996+52%172 to 262
- Total, 1996 to 20256,006boys
† 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 193 · ONS · 257 in 2024
Rank 298 · NRS · 10 in 2024
Rank 237 · NISRA · 6 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 | =193 | 262 | +2% | 1 in 1,148 |
| 2024 | 193 | 257 | +21% | 1 in 1,187 |
| 2023 | 231 | 212 | -13% | 1 in 1,429 |
| 2022 | =208 | 244 | -1% | 1 in 1,273 |
| 2021 | =215 | 246 | +3% | 1 in 1,301 |
| 2020 | 216 | 238 | -10% | 1 in 1,321 |
| 2019 | 196 | 264 | +22% | 1 in 1,247 |
| 2018 | =238 | 217 | -7% | 1 in 1,556 |
| 2017 | 232 | 233 | -10% | 1 in 1,494 |
| 2016 * | 216 | 259 | +9% | 1 in 1,375 |
| 2015 | =235 | 237 | -7% | 1 in 1,511 |
| 2014 | 223 | 255 | +21% | 1 in 1,399 |
| 2013 | =241 | 210 | +12% | 1 in 1,707 |
| 2012 | =256 | 188 | +23% | 1 in 1,991 |
| 2011 | =291 | 153 | +1% | 1 in 2,425 |
| 2010 | =298 | 151 | -5% | 1 in 2,457 |
| 2009 | =274 | 159 | -5% | 1 in 2,278 |
| 2008 | =258 | 168 | -14% | 1 in 2,160 |
| 2007 | 225 | 195 | +3% | 1 in 1,818 |
| 2006 | =215 | 190 | +10% | 1 in 1,802 |
| 2005 | =216 | 172 | -2% | 1 in 1,922 |
| 2004 | =210 | 176 | +2% | 1 in 1,865 |
| 2003 | 209 | 173 | +9% | 1 in 1,841 |
| 2002 | =212 | 159 | +6% | 1 in 1,925 |
| 2001 | =209 | 150 | -1% | 1 in 2,031 |
| 2000 | 212 | 152 | -11% | 1 in 2,037 |
| 1999 | 192 | 171 | -1% | 1 in 1,867 |
| 1998 | 191 | 173 | +2% | 1 in 1,884 |
| 1997 | =190 | 170 | -1% | 1 in 1,939 |
| 1996 | =188 | 172 | 1 in 1,939 |
* 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 Francis
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Francis 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