Thirty years of Rory
Rory in numbers
Rory is still climbing: from 601 boys in 1996 to 1,760 in 2025, its highest count so far. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2016 and 2019, from 856 to 1,357. It ranked 93rd in 1996 and reached 17th in 2025, its best place so far. On average it was given to 528 boys a year in the late 1990s, 371 in the 2000s, 873 in the 2010s and 1,513 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+11%1,588 to 1,760
- 5 years+31%1,344 to 1,760
- 10 years+93%912 to 1,760
- 20 years+393%357 to 1,760
- Since 1996×3601 to 1,760
- Total, 1996 to 202523,630boys
† 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 17 · ONS · 1,588 in 2024
Rank 3 · NRS · 275 in 2024
Rank 20 · NISRA · 54 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 | 17 | 1,760 | +11% | 1 in 171 |
| 2024 | 24 | 1,588 | +8% | 1 in 192 |
| 2023 | 33 | 1,468 | +2% | 1 in 206 |
| 2022 | 38 | 1,435 | -3% | 1 in 216 |
| 2021 | 39 | 1,483 | +10% | 1 in 216 |
| 2020 | 43 | 1,344 | -1% | 1 in 234 |
| 2019 | 46 | 1,357 | +3% | 1 in 243 |
| 2018 | 47 | 1,323 | +11% | 1 in 255 |
| 2017 | 54 | 1,187 | +39% | 1 in 293 |
| 2016 * | 80 | 856 | -6% | 1 in 416 |
| 2015 | 74 | 912 | +21% | 1 in 393 |
| 2014 | 87 | 755 | +16% | 1 in 473 |
| 2013 | 96 | 652 | +2% | 1 in 550 |
| 2012 | 99 | 642 | +10% | 1 in 583 |
| 2011 | 110 | 586 | +29% | 1 in 633 |
| 2010 | 132 | 456 | +9% | 1 in 813 |
| 2009 | 142 | 418 | +6% | 1 in 866 |
| 2008 | 142 | 396 | -10% | 1 in 917 |
| 2007 | 124 | 439 | +12% | 1 in 807 |
| 2006 | 138 | 392 | +10% | 1 in 873 |
| 2005 | 142 | 357 | +3% | 1 in 926 |
| 2004 | 137 | 345 | -4% | 1 in 952 |
| 2003 | 132 | 360 | +16% | 1 in 884 |
| 2002 | 138 | 311 | -2% | 1 in 984 |
| 2001 | 135 | 316 | -17% | 1 in 964 |
| 2000 | 118 | 380 | -21% | 1 in 815 |
| 1999 | =105 | 478 | -3% | 1 in 668 |
| 1998 | 103 | 492 | -9% | 1 in 662 |
| 1997 | 98 | 541 | -10% | 1 in 609 |
| 1996 | 93 | 601 | 1 in 555 |
* 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 Rory
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Rory 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
Rory is in our lists: Gender-neutral baby names, Short baby names.