Thirty years of Iris
Iris in numbers
Iris has climbed from 8 girls in 1996 to 759 in 2025, close to its peak of 762 in 2022. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2009 and 2012, from 264 to 476. It ranked 1,914th in 1996 and reached 57th in 2025, its best place so far: fewer babies get the name than at its peak, but the names above it have fallen further. On average it was given to 12 girls a year in the late 1990s, 130 in the 2000s, 535 in the 2010s and 736 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+7%707 to 759
- 5 years+8%703 to 759
- 10 years+36%558 to 759
- 20 years+590%110 to 759
- Since 1996×958 to 759
- Total, 1996 to 202511,112girls
† 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 57 · ONS · 707 in 2024
Rank 116 · NRS · 32 in 2024
Rank 334 · NISRA · 9 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 | 57 | 759 | +7% | 1 in 375 |
| 2024 | 61 | 707 | -5% | 1 in 410 |
| 2023 | 61 | 741 | -3% | 1 in 389 |
| 2022 | 66 | 762 | +2% | 1 in 387 |
| 2021 | 70 | 746 | +6% | 1 in 408 |
| 2020 | 77 | 703 | +7% | 1 in 426 |
| 2019 | 81 | 658 | +4% | 1 in 473 |
| 2018 | =82 | 634 | -3% | 1 in 504 |
| 2017 | 81 | 654 | +1% | 1 in 506 |
| 2016 | 84 | 648 | +16% | 1 in 523 |
| 2015 | 102 | 558 | +7% | 1 in 609 |
| 2014 | 108 | 522 | +3% | 1 in 648 |
| 2013 * | 106 | 505 | +6% | 1 in 676 |
| 2012 | =122 | 476 | +27% | 1 in 746 |
| 2011 | 147 | 376 | +19% | 1 in 939 |
| 2010 | 167 | 316 | +20% | 1 in 1,115 |
| 2009 | 195 | 264 | +5% | 1 in 1,303 |
| 2008 | 205 | 251 | +10% | 1 in 1,377 |
| 2007 | 222 | 229 | +71% | 1 in 1,465 |
| 2006 | =325 | 134 | +22% | 1 in 2,442 |
| 2005 | =361 | 110 | -3% | 1 in 2,866 |
| 2004 | =340 | 113 | +30% | 1 in 2,756 |
| 2003 | =412 | 87 | +43% | 1 in 3,483 |
| 2002 | =493 | 61 | +74% | 1 in 4,755 |
| 2001 | =710 | 35 | +119% | 1 in 8,285 |
| 2000 | =1,195 | 16 | +33% | 1 in 18,425 |
| 1999 | =1,473 | 12 | +0% | 1 in 25,217 |
| 1998 | =1,480 | 12 | -20% | n/a |
| 1997 | =1,234 | 15 | +88% | 1 in 20,901 |
| 1996 | =1,914 | 8 | 1 in 39,498 |
* 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 Iris
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
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Iris 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
Iris is in our lists: Short baby names.