Thirty years of Olivia
Olivia in numbers
Olivia peaked in 2008 with 5,325 girls and has fallen since, to 2,386 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 1996 and 1999, from 2,456 to 5,250. It ranked 24th in 1996, reached 1st in 2008 and ranks 1st now. On average it was given to 3,511 girls a year in the late 1990s, 4,494 in the 2000s, 4,788 in the 2010s and 3,105 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-14%2,761 to 2,386
- 5 years-34%3,640 to 2,386
- 10 years-51%4,853 to 2,386
- 20 years-44%4,282 to 2,386
- Since 1996-3%2,456 to 2,386
- Total, 1996 to 2025125,491girls
† 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 1 · ONS · 2,761 in 2024
Rank 3 · NRS · 266 in 2024
Rank 3 · NISRA · 109 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 | 1 | 2,386 | -14% | 1 in 119 |
| 2024 | 1 | 2,761 | -5% | 1 in 105 |
| 2023 | 1 | 2,906 | -12% | 1 in 99 |
| 2022 | 1 | 3,289 | -10% | 1 in 90 |
| 2021 | 1 | 3,649 | +0% | 1 in 84 |
| 2020 | 1 | 3,640 | -11% | 1 in 82 |
| 2019 | 1 | 4,082 | -11% | 1 in 76 |
| 2018 | 1 | 4,598 | -12% | 1 in 69 |
| 2017 | 1 | 5,204 | +4% | 1 in 64 |
| 2016 | 1 | 5,017 | +3% | 1 in 68 |
| 2015 | 2 | 4,853 | +3% | 1 in 70 |
| 2014 | 2 | 4,724 | +3% | 1 in 72 |
| 2013 * | 2 | 4,598 | +0% | 1 in 74 |
| 2012 | 2 | 4,585 | -7% | 1 in 77 |
| 2011 | 2 | 4,938 | -6% | 1 in 71 |
| 2010 | 1 | 5,279 | +1% | 1 in 67 |
| 2009 | 1 | 5,201 | -2% | 1 in 66 |
| 2008 | 1 | 5,325 | +11% | 1 in 65 |
| 2007 | 3 | 4,814 | -3% | 1 in 70 |
| 2006 | 2 | 4,961 | +16% | 1 in 66 |
| 2005 | 4 | 4,282 | +7% | 1 in 74 |
| 2004 | 6 | 3,985 | -1% | 1 in 78 |
| 2003 | 8 | 4,024 | +6% | 1 in 75 |
| 2002 | 9 | 3,798 | -5% | 1 in 76 |
| 2001 | 10 | 4,001 | -12% | 1 in 72 |
| 2000 | 8 | 4,546 | -13% | 1 in 65 |
| 1999 | 4 | 5,250 | +48% | 1 in 58 |
| 1998 | 16 | 3,550 | +27% | n/a |
| 1997 | 19 | 2,789 | +14% | 1 in 112 |
| 1996 | 24 | 2,456 | 1 in 129 |
* 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 Olivia
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Olivia 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