Thirty years of Jacob
Jacob in numbers
Jacob peaked in 2012 with 5,286 boys and has fallen since, to 1,258 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2009 and 2012, from 3,214 to 5,286. It ranked 35th in 1996, reached 4th in 2013 and ranks 41st now. On average it was given to 2,568 boys a year in the late 1990s, 2,927 in the 2000s, 4,454 in the 2010s and 1,823 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Jaycob (5). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Jacob.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-15%1,484 to 1,258
- 5 years-46%2,327 to 1,258
- 10 years-74%4,850 to 1,258
- 20 years-59%3,057 to 1,258
- Since 1996-44%2,249 to 1,258
- Total, 1996 to 202595,012boys
† 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 41 · ONS · 1,484 in 2024
Rank 45 · NRS · 141 in 2024
Rank 27 · NISRA · 89 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 | 41 | 1,258 | -15% | 1 in 239 |
| 2024 | 30 | 1,484 | -10% | 1 in 206 |
| 2023 | 24 | 1,655 | -13% | 1 in 183 |
| 2022 | 22 | 1,892 | -18% | 1 in 164 |
| 2021 | 17 | 2,319 | -0% | 1 in 138 |
| 2020 | 19 | 2,327 | -24% | 1 in 135 |
| 2019 | 11 | 3,065 | -9% | 1 in 107 |
| 2018 | 11 | 3,350 | -16% | 1 in 101 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,968 | -12% | 1 in 88 |
| 2016 * | 5 | 4,485 | -8% | 1 in 79 |
| 2015 | 5 | 4,850 | -4% | 1 in 74 |
| 2014 | 4 | 5,050 | -1% | 1 in 71 |
| 2013 | 4 | 5,126 | -3% | 1 in 70 |
| 2012 | 5 | 5,286 | +5% | 1 in 71 |
| 2011 | 7 | 5,047 | +17% | 1 in 74 |
| 2010 | 12 | 4,308 | +34% | 1 in 86 |
| 2009 | 18 | 3,214 | +3% | 1 in 113 |
| 2008 | 20 | 3,127 | -1% | 1 in 116 |
| 2007 | 20 | 3,155 | -1% | 1 in 112 |
| 2006 | 22 | 3,193 | +4% | 1 in 107 |
| 2005 | 21 | 3,057 | +3% | 1 in 108 |
| 2004 | 23 | 2,954 | +2% | 1 in 111 |
| 2003 | 27 | 2,903 | +14% | 1 in 110 |
| 2002 | 30 | 2,537 | -2% | 1 in 121 |
| 2001 | 28 | 2,595 | +2% | 1 in 117 |
| 2000 | 28 | 2,536 | -8% | 1 in 122 |
| 1999 | 28 | 2,746 | +2% | 1 in 116 |
| 1998 | 27 | 2,686 | +4% | 1 in 121 |
| 1997 | 29 | 2,590 | +15% | 1 in 127 |
| 1996 | 35 | 2,249 | 1 in 148 |
* 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 Jacob
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Jacob 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