Thirty years of Rafe
Rafe in numbers
Rafe is still climbing: from 13 boys in 1996 to 255 in 2025, its highest count so far. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2019 and 2022, from 118 to 243. On average it was given to 11 boys a year in the late 1990s, 32 in the 2000s, 119 in the 2010s and 222 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+28%199 to 255
- 5 years+46%175 to 255
- 10 years+47%174 to 255
- 20 years+920%25 to 255
- Since 1996×2013 to 255
- Total, 1996 to 20252,888boys
† 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 201 · ONS · 199 in 2024
Rank 298 · NRS · 10 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 | =201 | 255 | +28% | 1 in 1,179 |
| 2024 | 247 | 199 | -7% | 1 in 1,532 |
| 2023 | 228 | 214 | -12% | 1 in 1,416 |
| 2022 | 210 | 243 | -2% | 1 in 1,278 |
| 2021 | 213 | 248 | +42% | 1 in 1,291 |
| 2020 | =269 | 175 | +48% | 1 in 1,797 |
| 2019 | =372 | 118 | -16% | 1 in 2,789 |
| 2018 | =328 | 140 | -13% | 1 in 2,411 |
| 2017 | =312 | 160 | -3% | 1 in 2,175 |
| 2016 * | 297 | 165 | -5% | 1 in 2,158 |
| 2015 | =281 | 174 | +55% | 1 in 2,058 |
| 2014 | =367 | 112 | -7% | 1 in 3,185 |
| 2013 | =342 | 121 | +53% | 1 in 2,962 |
| 2012 | =484 | 79 | +34% | 1 in 4,738 |
| 2011 | =588 | 59 | +2% | 1 in 6,287 |
| 2010 | =584 | 58 | +16% | 1 in 6,396 |
| 2009 | =641 | 50 | +16% | 1 in 7,242 |
| 2008 | =684 | 43 | +10% | 1 in 8,440 |
| 2007 | =711 | 39 | -11% | 1 in 9,089 |
| 2006 | =631 | 44 | +76% | 1 in 7,782 |
| 2005 | =891 | 25 | -31% | 1 in 13,223 |
| 2004 | =667 | 36 | +3% | 1 in 9,120 |
| 2003 | =633 | 35 | +46% | 1 in 9,098 |
| 2002 | =781 | 24 | +71% | 1 in 12,752 |
| 2001 | =1,078 | 14 | +0% | 1 in 21,758 |
| 2000 | =1,048 | 14 | +75% | 1 in 22,115 |
| 1999 | =1,505 | 8 | -33% | 1 in 39,906 |
| 1998 | =1,110 | 12 | +9% | 1 in 27,158 |
| 1997 | =1,174 | 11 | -15% | 1 in 29,960 |
| 1996 | =1,040 | 13 | 1 in 25,652 |
* 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 Rafe
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Rafe 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