Thirty years of Nellie
Nellie in numbers
Nellie has risen from 7 girls in 1996 to 458 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 509 in 2023. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2016 and 2019, from 159 to 449. It ranked 2,096th in 1996, reached 93rd in 2024 and ranks 101st now.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-8%500 to 458
- 5 years+15%400 to 458
- 10 years+192%157 to 458
- 20 years+2,594%17 to 458
- Since 1996×657 to 458
- Total, 1996 to 20254,548girls
† 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 101 · ONS · 500 in 2024
Rank 324 · NRS · 16 in 2024
Rank 205 · 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 | 101 | 458 | -8% | 1 in 622 |
| 2024 | 93 | 500 | -2% | 1 in 579 |
| 2023 | 97 | 509 | +3% | 1 in 566 |
| 2022 | 101 | 496 | -2% | 1 in 594 |
| 2021 | =101 | 506 | +26% | 1 in 602 |
| 2020 | =120 | 400 | -11% | 1 in 749 |
| 2019 | 114 | 449 | +54% | 1 in 693 |
| 2018 | 180 | 291 | +35% | 1 in 1,098 |
| 2017 | =233 | 216 | +36% | 1 in 1,533 |
| 2016 | =310 | 159 | +1% | 1 in 2,133 |
| 2015 | =307 | 157 | +166% | 1 in 2,164 |
| 2014 | =668 | 59 | +37% | 1 in 5,736 |
| 2013 * | =865 | 43 | -9% | 1 in 7,941 |
| 2012 * | =812 | 47 | +88% | 1 in 7,560 |
| 2011 * | =1,269 | 25 | -38% | 1 in 14,117 |
| 2010 | =878 | 40 | +25% | 1 in 8,805 |
| 2009 | =1,004 | 32 | +39% | 1 in 10,753 |
| 2008 | =1,247 | 23 | -26% | 1 in 15,032 |
| 2007 | =963 | 31 | +94% | 1 in 10,823 |
| 2006 | =1,502 | 16 | -6% | 1 in 20,448 |
| 2005 | =1,343 | 17 | +0% | 1 in 18,542 |
| 2004 | =1,312 | 17 | -11% | 1 in 18,316 |
| 2003 | =1,176 | 19 | +36% | 1 in 15,949 |
| 2002 | =1,372 | 14 | +75% | 1 in 20,718 |
| 2001 | =2,023 | 8 | 1 in 36,248 | |
| 2000 | n/a | under 3 | ||
| 1999 | =2,770 | 5 | +25% | 1 in 60,521 |
| 1998 | =3,142 | 4 | n/a | |
| 1997 | n/a | under 3 | ||
| 1996 | =2,096 | 7 | 1 in 45,141 |
* 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. ONS’s own figures for the most popular girls’ names jump in 2012 for a reason we have not been able to establish, so read changes for 2011 to 2013 with care. 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 Nellie
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Nellie 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