Thirty years of Thomas
Thomas in numbers
Thomas peaked in 1996 with 9,603 boys and has fallen since, to 1,344 in 2025. Its biggest three-year fall came between 1999 and 2002, from 9,454 to 7,438. It ranked 3rd in 1996, reached 2nd in 1998 and ranks 35th now. On average it was given to 9,501 boys a year in the late 1990s, 7,048 in the 2000s, 4,197 in the 2010s and 1,965 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-13%1,543 to 1,344
- 5 years-49%2,646 to 1,344
- 10 years-67%4,075 to 1,344
- 20 years-80%6,792 to 1,344
- Since 1996-86%9,603 to 1,344
- Total, 1996 to 2025162,238boys
† 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 35 · ONS · 1,543 in 2024
Rank 21 · NRS · 154 in 2024
Rank 18 · NISRA · 96 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 | 35 | 1,344 | -13% | 1 in 224 |
| 2024 | 26 | 1,543 | -17% | 1 in 198 |
| 2023 | 19 | 1,855 | -12% | 1 in 163 |
| 2022 | 19 | 2,101 | -9% | 1 in 148 |
| 2021 | 18 | 2,302 | -13% | 1 in 139 |
| 2020 | 15 | 2,646 | -11% | 1 in 119 |
| 2019 | 13 | 2,957 | -9% | 1 in 111 |
| 2018 | 12 | 3,243 | -0% | 1 in 104 |
| 2017 | =13 | 3,246 | -17% | 1 in 107 |
| 2016 * | 9 | 3,898 | -4% | 1 in 91 |
| 2015 | 9 | 4,075 | -7% | 1 in 88 |
| 2014 | 6 | 4,405 | -4% | 1 in 81 |
| 2013 | 6 | 4,591 | -6% | 1 in 78 |
| 2012 | 6 | 4,893 | -9% | 1 in 77 |
| 2011 | 6 | 5,353 | +1% | 1 in 69 |
| 2010 | 6 | 5,307 | -4% | 1 in 70 |
| 2009 | 6 | 5,520 | -9% | 1 in 66 |
| 2008 | 3 | 6,062 | -7% | 1 in 60 |
| 2007 | 2 | 6,530 | -1% | 1 in 54 |
| 2006 | 2 | 6,616 | -3% | 1 in 52 |
| 2005 | 3 | 6,792 | -7% | 1 in 49 |
| 2004 | 3 | 7,295 | +1% | 1 in 45 |
| 2003 | 3 | 7,213 | -3% | 1 in 44 |
| 2002 | 3 | 7,438 | -11% | 1 in 41 |
| 2001 | 2 | 8,337 | -4% | 1 in 37 |
| 2000 | 2 | 8,672 | -8% | 1 in 36 |
| 1999 | 2 | 9,454 | -0% | 1 in 34 |
| 1998 | 2 | 9,468 | -0% | 1 in 34 |
| 1997 | 3 | 9,479 | -1% | 1 in 35 |
| 1996 | 3 | 9,603 | 1 in 35 |
* 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 Thomas
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Thomas 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