Names / Boys / England and Wales

Rayyan

Rayyan was given to 261 boys in England and Wales in 2025, ranking joint 195th, its highest place in thirty years.

Also given to 6 girls in 2025. See the girls’ figures

261babies in 2025
=195joint rank, up 31 on 2024
1 in 1,152†boys born in 2025
+23%†since 2020 (213)

Thirty years of Rayyan

RayyanEvery year 1996 to 2025 published (3 or more babies)

Rayyan in numbers

Rayyan has climbed from 3 boys in 1996 to 261 in 2025, close to its peak of 283 in 2014. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2007 and 2010, from 100 to 243. On average it was given to 6 boys a year in the late 1990s, 75 in the 2000s, 239 in the 2010s and 210 in the 2020s so far.

† Shapes, averages and turning points are Baby Data calculations from the ONS counts.

Milestones

First year in each band
1996Lowest point: 3 babies, rank 2,863
2001First in the top 1,000
2004First in the top 500
2014Its peak: 283 babies
Not yetin the top 100

Change

  • On last year+19%219 to 261
  • 5 years+23%213 to 261
  • 10 years-2%265 to 261
  • 20 years+308%64 to 261
  • Since 1996×873 to 261
  • Total, 1996 to 20254,426boys

† All changes and totals are Baby Data calculations from ONS counts. A total adds only the published years.

Names around it

Similar thirty-year curve†: Archie, Abdullah, Ollie, Rayan, Ibrahim. Similar popularity shape, not similar sound or meaning.

Across the three nations, 2025

Each from its own statistics office, never added together
England and Wales261

Rank 195 · ONS · 219 in 2024

Scotland7

Rank 441 · NRS · 8 in 2024

Northern IrelandNot in the latest list

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
Rayyan year by year
YearRankBabiesChange†1 in X†
2025=195261+19%1 in 1,152
2024226219+12%1 in 1,393
2023=244195-5%1 in 1,554
2022=235205+24%1 in 1,515
2021283165-23%1 in 1,940
2020=228213+22%1 in 1,476
2019=279175+5%1 in 1,881
2018292167-29%1 in 2,021
2017=230235-4%1 in 1,481
2016 *231244-8%1 in 1,459
2015=214265-6%1 in 1,351
2014204283+0%1 in 1,261
2013197282+2%1 in 1,271
2012=199276+23%1 in 1,356
2011=220224-8%1 in 1,656
2010209243+61%1 in 1,527
2009=284151-7%1 in 2,398
2008269162+62%1 in 2,240
2007=366100+27%1 in 3,545
2006=42179+23%1 in 4,334
2005=44264+7%1 in 5,165
2004=45260+40%1 in 5,472
2003=53743+0%1 in 7,405
2002=50243+30%1 in 7,117
2001=57633+120%1 in 9,231
2000=1,00215+7%1 in 20,641
1999=1,02714+250%1 in 22,803
1998=2,4194+33%1 in 81,474
1997=2,8593+0%1 in 109,855
1996=2,86331 in 111,160

* 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.

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Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.

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Share and download

Rayyan 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

OM

Oliver Mackman

Editor, BabyData

Oliver Mackman is the named editor of BabyData and a director of Best Business Loans Ltd (Companies House 16833937), the company that operates the site. He is accountable for its editorial standards, sourcing and corrections, and requires every number to cite the underlying rule and the official UK dataset behind it, with pregnancy tools reviewed against NHS and gov.uk guidance before publication.

Last reviewed: 12 October 2026