Thirty years of Rafael
Rafael in numbers
Rafael has climbed from 10 boys in 1996 to 266 in 2025, close to its peak of 289 in 2021. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2006 and 2009, from 90 to 180. On average it was given to 16 boys a year in the late 1990s, 78 in the 2000s, 205 in the 2010s and 266 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Raphael (368), Rafal (6), Raffael (6), Rufael (5), Refoel (3). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Rafael.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year+15%231 to 266
- 5 years-4%276 to 266
- 10 years+35%197 to 266
- 20 years+275%71 to 266
- Since 1996×2710 to 266
- Total, 1996 to 20254,495boys
† 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 189 · ONS · 231 in 2024
Rank 441 · 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 | =189 | 266 | +15% | 1 in 1,131 |
| 2024 | 215 | 231 | -10% | 1 in 1,320 |
| 2023 | =194 | 257 | -8% | 1 in 1,179 |
| 2022 | =181 | 279 | -3% | 1 in 1,113 |
| 2021 | =188 | 289 | +5% | 1 in 1,108 |
| 2020 | 187 | 276 | +10% | 1 in 1,139 |
| 2019 | 203 | 251 | -5% | 1 in 1,311 |
| 2018 | =203 | 265 | +18% | 1 in 1,274 |
| 2017 | =239 | 225 | -2% | 1 in 1,547 |
| 2016 * | 240 | 229 | +16% | 1 in 1,555 |
| 2015 | 260 | 197 | +13% | 1 in 1,818 |
| 2014 | 275 | 175 | -7% | 1 in 2,039 |
| 2013 | 257 | 189 | +3% | 1 in 1,896 |
| 2012 | =259 | 183 | +14% | 1 in 2,046 |
| 2011 | =277 | 160 | -11% | 1 in 2,319 |
| 2010 | =260 | 180 | +0% | 1 in 2,061 |
| 2009 | 244 | 180 | +22% | 1 in 2,012 |
| 2008 | =285 | 147 | +19% | 1 in 2,469 |
| 2007 | 304 | 124 | +38% | 1 in 2,859 |
| 2006 | =383 | 90 | +27% | 1 in 3,805 |
| 2005 | =412 | 71 | +45% | 1 in 4,656 |
| 2004 | =532 | 49 | +26% | 1 in 6,701 |
| 2003 | =577 | 39 | +15% | 1 in 8,164 |
| 2002 | =586 | 34 | +42% | 1 in 9,001 |
| 2001 | =728 | 24 | +14% | 1 in 12,692 |
| 2000 | =794 | 21 | +17% | 1 in 14,743 |
| 1999 | =869 | 18 | +6% | 1 in 17,736 |
| 1998 | =887 | 17 | -11% | 1 in 19,170 |
| 1997 | =809 | 19 | +90% | 1 in 17,345 |
| 1996 | =1,235 | 10 | 1 in 33,348 |
* 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 Rafael
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Rafael 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