Thirty years of Primrose
Primrose in numbers
Primrose dipped to 4 girls in 2005 and has come back to 259 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2013 and 2016, from 66 to 223. On average it was given to 8 girls a year in the late 1990s, 12 in the 2000s, 136 in the 2010s and 285 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-5%272 to 259
- 5 years-19%320 to 259
- 10 years+35%192 to 259
- 20 years+6,375%4 to 259
- Since 1996×436 to 259
- Total, 1996 to 20253,226girls
† 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 196 · ONS · 272 in 2024
Rank 780 · NRS · 4 in 2024
Fewer than 3 babies, or not published · NISRA
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 | 196 | 259 | -5% | 1 in 1,099 |
| 2024 | 179 | 272 | +10% | 1 in 1,065 |
| 2023 | 200 | 247 | -17% | 1 in 1,166 |
| 2022 | =170 | 297 | -6% | 1 in 993 |
| 2021 | =162 | 315 | -2% | 1 in 967 |
| 2020 | =157 | 320 | +47% | 1 in 936 |
| 2019 | 230 | 217 | -9% | 1 in 1,434 |
| 2018 | 213 | 239 | +1% | 1 in 1,337 |
| 2017 | 220 | 237 | +6% | 1 in 1,397 |
| 2016 | =232 | 223 | +16% | 1 in 1,521 |
| 2015 | 259 | 192 | +106% | 1 in 1,769 |
| 2014 | =465 | 93 | +41% | 1 in 3,639 |
| 2013 * | =616 | 66 | +78% | 1 in 5,174 |
| 2012 | =975 | 37 | +19% | 1 in 9,603 |
| 2011 | =1,096 | 31 | +15% | 1 in 11,385 |
| 2010 | =1,180 | 27 | +17% | 1 in 13,044 |
| 2009 | =1,287 | 23 | +35% | 1 in 14,961 |
| 2008 | =1,584 | 17 | -29% | 1 in 20,338 |
| 2007 | =1,160 | 24 | +167% | 1 in 13,979 |
| 2006 | =2,320 | 9 | +125% | 1 in 36,352 |
| 2005 | =3,970 | 4 | -43% | 1 in 78,804 |
| 2004 | =2,530 | 7 | -36% | 1 in 44,482 |
| 2003 | =1,722 | 11 | +22% | 1 in 27,548 |
| 2002 | =1,928 | 9 | +0% | 1 in 32,227 |
| 2001 | =1,870 | 9 | +0% | 1 in 32,220 |
| 2000 | =1,831 | 9 | +80% | 1 in 32,756 |
| 1999 | =2,770 | 5 | -44% | 1 in 60,521 |
| 1998 | =1,823 | 9 | -25% | n/a |
| 1997 | =1,450 | 12 | +100% | 1 in 26,126 |
| 1996 | =2,350 | 6 | 1 in 52,665 |
* 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 Primrose
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Primrose 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