Thirty years of Ralph
Ralph in numbers
Ralph has risen from 47 boys in 1996 to 541 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 748 in 2019. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2012 and 2015, from 287 to 529. It ranked 427th in 1996, reached 81st in 2019 and ranks 96th now. On average it was given to 48 boys a year in the late 1990s, 88 in the 2000s, 472 in the 2010s and 607 in the 2020s so far.
† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.
Similar spellings in the 2025 list†: Ralf (13). Matched by their letters, not by meaning or origin. ONS counts each spelling separately, so these are not added to Ralph.
Milestones
First year in each bandChange
- On last year-5%572 to 541
- 5 years-12%615 to 541
- 10 years+2%529 to 541
- 20 years+458%97 to 541
- Since 1996×1247 to 541
- Total, 1996 to 20259,433boys
† 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 96 · ONS · 572 in 2024
Rank 278 · NRS · 16 in 2024
Rank 270 · NISRA · 8 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 | 96 | 541 | -5% | 1 in 556 |
| 2024 | 94 | 572 | +3% | 1 in 533 |
| 2023 | 98 | 555 | -17% | 1 in 546 |
| 2022 | 86 | 667 | -4% | 1 in 466 |
| 2021 | 85 | 692 | +13% | 1 in 463 |
| 2020 | 95 | 615 | -18% | 1 in 511 |
| 2019 | 81 | 748 | +4% | 1 in 440 |
| 2018 | 88 | 719 | +7% | 1 in 470 |
| 2017 | =98 | 669 | +14% | 1 in 520 |
| 2016 * | 112 | 587 | +11% | 1 in 607 |
| 2015 | 122 | 529 | +23% | 1 in 677 |
| 2014 | 134 | 430 | +20% | 1 in 830 |
| 2013 | 158 | 359 | +25% | 1 in 998 |
| 2012 | 193 | 287 | +35% | 1 in 1,304 |
| 2011 | =230 | 212 | +17% | 1 in 1,750 |
| 2010 | =258 | 181 | +26% | 1 in 2,049 |
| 2009 | =294 | 144 | +9% | 1 in 2,515 |
| 2008 | =306 | 132 | +9% | 1 in 2,750 |
| 2007 | =312 | 121 | +13% | 1 in 2,929 |
| 2006 | =326 | 107 | +10% | 1 in 3,200 |
| 2005 | =328 | 97 | +35% | 1 in 3,408 |
| 2004 | =391 | 72 | +7% | 1 in 4,560 |
| 2003 | =394 | 67 | +52% | 1 in 4,752 |
| 2002 | =493 | 44 | -17% | 1 in 6,956 |
| 2001 | =414 | 53 | +32% | 1 in 5,747 |
| 2000 | =491 | 40 | -22% | 1 in 7,740 |
| 1999 | =426 | 51 | +6% | 1 in 6,260 |
| 1998 | =437 | 48 | +2% | 1 in 6,790 |
| 1997 | =427 | 47 | +0% | 1 in 7,012 |
| 1996 | =427 | 47 | 1 in 7,095 |
* 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 Ralph
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Ralph 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