Thirty years of Riley
Riley in numbers
Riley peaked in 2012 with 4,825 boys and has fallen since, to 619 in 2025. Its biggest three-year fall came between 2012 and 2015, from 4,825 to 1,728. It ranked 535th in 1996, reached 8th in 2012 and ranks 83rd now. On average it was given to 59 boys a year in the late 1990s, 1,008 in the 2000s, 2,397 in the 2010s and 720 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-10%685 to 619
- 5 years-26%842 to 619
- 10 years-64%1,728 to 619
- 20 years-32%917 to 619
- Since 1996×1932 to 619
- Total, 1996 to 202538,605boys
† 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 83 · ONS · 685 in 2024
Rank 83 · NRS · 60 in 2024
Rank 77 · NISRA · 21 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 | 83 | 619 | -10% | 1 in 486 |
| 2024 | 80 | 685 | +7% | 1 in 445 |
| 2023 | =80 | 639 | -11% | 1 in 474 |
| 2022 | 79 | 720 | -12% | 1 in 431 |
| 2021 | 70 | 817 | -3% | 1 in 392 |
| 2020 | 67 | 842 | -20% | 1 in 373 |
| 2019 | 62 | 1,048 | -10% | 1 in 314 |
| 2018 | 58 | 1,168 | -18% | 1 in 289 |
| 2017 | 43 | 1,427 | -8% | 1 in 244 |
| 2016 * | 40 | 1,556 | -10% | 1 in 229 |
| 2015 | 40 | 1,728 | -21% | 1 in 207 |
| 2014 | 35 | 2,177 | -30% | 1 in 164 |
| 2013 | 21 | 3,122 | -35% | 1 in 115 |
| 2012 | 8 | 4,825 | +14% | 1 in 78 |
| 2011 | 13 | 4,226 | +57% | 1 in 88 |
| 2010 | 25 | 2,690 | +12% | 1 in 138 |
| 2009 | 29 | 2,406 | +9% | 1 in 151 |
| 2008 | 33 | 2,203 | +57% | 1 in 165 |
| 2007 | 57 | 1,400 | +18% | 1 in 253 |
| 2006 | 64 | 1,187 | +29% | 1 in 288 |
| 2005 | 74 | 917 | +39% | 1 in 360 |
| 2004 | 88 | 662 | +34% | 1 in 496 |
| 2003 | 105 | 494 | +31% | 1 in 645 |
| 2002 | 122 | 378 | +43% | 1 in 810 |
| 2001 | 147 | 265 | +58% | 1 in 1,149 |
| 2000 | 194 | 168 | +83% | 1 in 1,843 |
| 1999 | =297 | 92 | +31% | 1 in 3,470 |
| 1998 | =340 | 70 | +67% | 1 in 4,656 |
| 1997 | =462 | 42 | +31% | 1 in 7,847 |
| 1996 | =535 | 32 | 1 in 10,421 |
* 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 Riley
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Riley 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