Thirty years of Orla
Orla in numbers
Orla has climbed from 45 girls in 1996 to 721 in 2025, close to its peak of 794 in 2021. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2012 and 2015, from 344 to 539. It ranked 549th in 1996, reached 56th in 2023 and ranks 64th now. On average it was given to 86 girls a year in the late 1990s, 179 in the 2000s, 484 in the 2010s and 758 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-3%746 to 721
- 5 years-2%733 to 721
- 10 years+34%539 to 721
- 20 years+468%127 to 721
- Since 1996×1645 to 721
- Total, 1996 to 202511,520girls
† 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 64 · ONS · 746 in 2024
Rank 22 · NRS · 159 in 2024
Rank 121 · NISRA · 14 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 | 64 | 721 | -3% | 1 in 395 |
| 2024 | 58 | 746 | -4% | 1 in 388 |
| 2023 | 56 | 780 | +1% | 1 in 369 |
| 2022 | 63 | 776 | -2% | 1 in 380 |
| 2021 | 66 | 794 | +8% | 1 in 384 |
| 2020 | 72 | 733 | +7% | 1 in 409 |
| 2019 | 78 | 687 | +11% | 1 in 453 |
| 2018 | =86 | 621 | +2% | 1 in 514 |
| 2017 | 88 | 610 | +14% | 1 in 543 |
| 2016 | 107 | 537 | -0% | 1 in 632 |
| 2015 | 106 | 539 | +18% | 1 in 630 |
| 2014 | =122 | 456 | +13% | 1 in 742 |
| 2013 * | 132 | 405 | +18% | 1 in 843 |
| 2012 | 155 | 344 | +1% | 1 in 1,033 |
| 2011 | 155 | 340 | +13% | 1 in 1,038 |
| 2010 | 175 | 301 | -6% | 1 in 1,170 |
| 2009 | 164 | 321 | +31% | 1 in 1,072 |
| 2008 | 211 | 245 | +24% | 1 in 1,411 |
| 2007 | =251 | 198 | +23% | 1 in 1,694 |
| 2006 | 287 | 161 | +27% | 1 in 2,032 |
| 2005 | =319 | 127 | -15% | 1 in 2,482 |
| 2004 | =276 | 150 | -3% | 1 in 2,076 |
| 2003 | =269 | 155 | +12% | 1 in 1,955 |
| 2002 | 280 | 139 | +3% | 1 in 2,087 |
| 2001 | =282 | 135 | -13% | 1 in 2,148 |
| 2000 | =254 | 156 | +8% | 1 in 1,890 |
| 1999 | =267 | 144 | +95% | 1 in 2,101 |
| 1998 | =414 | 74 | -7% | n/a |
| 1997 | =396 | 80 | +78% | 1 in 3,919 |
| 1996 | =549 | 45 | 1 in 7,022 |
* 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 Orla
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Orla 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
Orla is in our lists: Short baby names.