Thirty years of Jesse
Jesse in numbers
Jesse is still climbing: from 161 boys in 1996 to 980 in 2025, its highest count so far. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2013 and 2016, from 417 to 723. It ranked 198th in 1996 and reached 51st in 2025, its best place so far. On average it was given to 164 boys a year in the late 1990s, 169 in the 2000s, 560 in the 2010s and 921 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+0%976 to 980
- 5 years+17%841 to 980
- 10 years+71%573 to 980
- 20 years+457%176 to 980
- Since 1996×6161 to 980
- Total, 1996 to 202513,466boys
† 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 51 · ONS · 976 in 2024
Rank 226 · NRS · 13 in 2024
Rank 99 · NISRA · 23 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 | 51 | 980 | +0% | 1 in 307 |
| 2024 | 54 | 976 | +6% | 1 in 312 |
| 2023 | 59 | 918 | +4% | 1 in 330 |
| 2022 | 66 | 882 | -5% | 1 in 352 |
| 2021 | 64 | 929 | +10% | 1 in 345 |
| 2020 | 68 | 841 | -2% | 1 in 374 |
| 2019 | 69 | 859 | -0% | 1 in 383 |
| 2018 | 75 | 861 | +15% | 1 in 392 |
| 2017 | 90 | 750 | +4% | 1 in 464 |
| 2016 * | 94 | 723 | +26% | 1 in 493 |
| 2015 | 110 | 573 | +5% | 1 in 625 |
| 2014 | 112 | 546 | +31% | 1 in 653 |
| 2013 | =141 | 417 | +48% | 1 in 859 |
| 2012 | 198 | 281 | -8% | 1 in 1,332 |
| 2011 | 184 | 304 | +8% | 1 in 1,220 |
| 2010 | =189 | 281 | +25% | 1 in 1,320 |
| 2009 | 208 | 225 | -1% | 1 in 1,609 |
| 2008 | =206 | 228 | -17% | 1 in 1,592 |
| 2007 | 178 | 275 | +33% | 1 in 1,289 |
| 2006 | =205 | 206 | +17% | 1 in 1,662 |
| 2005 | 212 | 176 | +30% | 1 in 1,878 |
| 2004 | =244 | 135 | +26% | 1 in 2,432 |
| 2003 | =280 | 107 | +6% | 1 in 2,976 |
| 2002 | =275 | 101 | -3% | 1 in 3,030 |
| 2001 | =267 | 104 | -22% | 1 in 2,929 |
| 2000 | =223 | 134 | -1% | 1 in 2,311 |
| 1999 | =226 | 135 | -8% | 1 in 2,365 |
| 1998 | 216 | 146 | -31% | 1 in 2,232 |
| 1997 | =164 | 212 | +32% | 1 in 1,555 |
| 1996 | =198 | 161 | 1 in 2,071 |
* 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 Jesse
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Jesse 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