Thirty years of Molly
Molly in numbers
Molly peaked in 2001 with 2,987 girls and has fallen since, to 405 in 2025. Its biggest three-year fall came between 2003 and 2006, from 2,782 to 1,995. It ranked 29th in 1996, reached 15th in 2001 and ranks 120th now. On average it was given to 2,345 girls a year in the late 1990s, 2,308 in the 2000s, 1,210 in the 2010s and 595 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-9%446 to 405
- 5 years-54%890 to 405
- 10 years-67%1,215 to 405
- 20 years-83%2,355 to 405
- Since 1996-80%2,026 to 405
- Total, 1996 to 202548,131girls
† 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 120 · ONS · 446 in 2024
Rank 56 · NRS · 62 in 2024
Rank 32 · NISRA · 53 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 | 120 | 405 | -9% | 1 in 703 |
| 2024 | =104 | 446 | -16% | 1 in 650 |
| 2023 | 88 | 534 | -6% | 1 in 539 |
| 2022 | 84 | 568 | -22% | 1 in 519 |
| 2021 | 73 | 729 | -18% | 1 in 418 |
| 2020 | 54 | 890 | -2% | 1 in 336 |
| 2019 | 57 | 911 | -2% | 1 in 342 |
| 2018 | 58 | 929 | -5% | 1 in 344 |
| 2017 | 58 | 978 | -6% | 1 in 338 |
| 2016 | 56 | 1,041 | -14% | 1 in 326 |
| 2015 | 46 | 1,215 | -10% | 1 in 280 |
| 2014 | 41 | 1,349 | -8% | 1 in 251 |
| 2013 * | 35 | 1,469 | +2% | 1 in 232 |
| 2012 | 39 | 1,434 | +8% | 1 in 248 |
| 2011 | 46 | 1,322 | -9% | 1 in 267 |
| 2010 | 42 | 1,454 | -4% | 1 in 242 |
| 2009 | 40 | 1,522 | -12% | 1 in 226 |
| 2008 | 32 | 1,737 | -6% | 1 in 199 |
| 2007 | 30 | 1,845 | -8% | 1 in 182 |
| 2006 | 25 | 1,995 | -15% | 1 in 164 |
| 2005 | 22 | 2,355 | -10% | 1 in 134 |
| 2004 | 21 | 2,610 | -6% | 1 in 119 |
| 2003 | 18 | 2,782 | -5% | 1 in 109 |
| 2002 | 15 | 2,916 | -2% | 1 in 99 |
| 2001 | 15 | 2,987 | +28% | 1 in 97 |
| 2000 | 20 | 2,328 | +1% | 1 in 127 |
| 1999 | 22 | 2,313 | -4% | 1 in 131 |
| 1998 | 24 | 2,413 | -8% | n/a |
| 1997 | 21 | 2,628 | +30% | 1 in 119 |
| 1996 | 29 | 2,026 | 1 in 156 |
* 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 Molly
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Molly 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