Thirty years of Noah
Noah in numbers
Noah has risen from 137 boys in 1996 to 4,075 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 4,586 in 2022. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2009 and 2012, from 2,250 to 3,912. It ranked 225th in 1996, reached 1st in 2021 and ranks 2nd now. On average it was given to 220 boys a year in the late 1990s, 1,075 in the 2000s, 3,930 in the 2010s and 4,292 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
What the official statisticians said
“Noah entered the top 10 baby boys’ names for the first time on record in 2015, following a gradual increase in popularity.”
ONS, on 2015 births in England and Wales. Read the source
Quoted word for word from the official releases, including their own “may” and “could”. Baby Data has not added reasons of its own. Releases for Scotland and Northern Ireland are about babies there, not in England and Wales.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-2%4,139 to 4,075
- 5 years+1%4,042 to 4,075
- 10 years-2%4,148 to 4,075
- 20 years+203%1,346 to 4,075
- Since 1996×30137 to 4,075
- Total, 1996 to 202576,671boys
† 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 2 · ONS · 4,139 in 2024
Rank 1 · NRS · 366 in 2024
Rank 1 · NISRA · 139 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 | 2 | 4,075 | -2% | 1 in 74 |
| 2024 | 2 | 4,139 | -6% | 1 in 74 |
| 2023 | 2 | 4,382 | -4% | 1 in 69 |
| 2022 | 1 | 4,586 | +1% | 1 in 68 |
| 2021 | 1 | 4,525 | +12% | 1 in 71 |
| 2020 | 4 | 4,042 | -5% | 1 in 78 |
| 2019 | 3 | 4,265 | +4% | 1 in 77 |
| 2018 | 4 | 4,107 | -4% | 1 in 82 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4,273 | -1% | 1 in 81 |
| 2016 * | 6 | 4,305 | +4% | 1 in 83 |
| 2015 | 7 | 4,148 | +2% | 1 in 86 |
| 2014 | 11 | 4,085 | +7% | 1 in 87 |
| 2013 | 13 | 3,830 | -2% | 1 in 94 |
| 2012 | 14 | 3,912 | +19% | 1 in 96 |
| 2011 | 16 | 3,287 | +7% | 1 in 113 |
| 2010 | 18 | 3,084 | +37% | 1 in 120 |
| 2009 | 32 | 2,250 | +34% | 1 in 161 |
| 2008 | 45 | 1,678 | +13% | 1 in 216 |
| 2007 | 50 | 1,480 | -2% | 1 in 240 |
| 2006 | 47 | 1,511 | +12% | 1 in 227 |
| 2005 | 51 | 1,346 | +53% | 1 in 246 |
| 2004 | 74 | 880 | +47% | 1 in 373 |
| 2003 | 94 | 597 | +48% | 1 in 533 |
| 2002 | 118 | 404 | +26% | 1 in 758 |
| 2001 | =133 | 320 | +14% | 1 in 952 |
| 2000 | 134 | 281 | -1% | 1 in 1,102 |
| 1999 | 135 | 284 | +17% | 1 in 1,124 |
| 1998 | =146 | 242 | +12% | 1 in 1,347 |
| 1997 | =161 | 216 | +58% | 1 in 1,526 |
| 1996 | 225 | 137 | 1 in 2,434 |
* 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 Noah
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Noah 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
Noah is in our lists: Short baby names.