Thirty years of Tilly
Tilly in numbers
Tilly peaked in 2009 with 703 girls and has fallen since, to 264 in 2025. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2001 and 2004, from 159 to 506. It ranked 335th in 1996, reached 86th in 2009 and ranks 193rd now. On average it was given to 139 girls a year in the late 1990s, 448 in the 2000s, 489 in the 2010s and 309 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-14%307 to 264
- 5 years-19%326 to 264
- 10 years-41%449 to 264
- 20 years-53%557 to 264
- Since 1996×3105 to 264
- Total, 1996 to 202511,781girls
† 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 193 · ONS · 307 in 2024
Rank 164 · NRS · 28 in 2024
Rank 231 · NISRA · 10 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 | =193 | 264 | -14% | 1 in 1,078 |
| 2024 | 165 | 307 | -1% | 1 in 944 |
| 2023 | =165 | 309 | -7% | 1 in 932 |
| 2022 | 146 | 334 | +6% | 1 in 883 |
| 2021 | =162 | 315 | -3% | 1 in 967 |
| 2020 | =153 | 326 | +2% | 1 in 919 |
| 2019 | =156 | 320 | -3% | 1 in 973 |
| 2018 | 163 | 330 | -15% | 1 in 968 |
| 2017 | 138 | 388 | -4% | 1 in 853 |
| 2016 | 140 | 403 | -10% | 1 in 842 |
| 2015 | 128 | 449 | -13% | 1 in 757 |
| 2014 | 110 | 517 | -18% | 1 in 655 |
| 2013 * | 86 | 627 | +3% | 1 in 545 |
| 2012 | =92 | 610 | +6% | 1 in 582 |
| 2011 | 103 | 573 | -15% | 1 in 616 |
| 2010 | 88 | 677 | -4% | 1 in 520 |
| 2009 | 86 | 703 | +15% | 1 in 489 |
| 2008 | 93 | 611 | +10% | 1 in 566 |
| 2007 | 97 | 554 | +3% | 1 in 606 |
| 2006 | =96 | 539 | -3% | 1 in 607 |
| 2005 | 95 | 557 | +10% | 1 in 566 |
| 2004 | 104 | 506 | +22% | 1 in 615 |
| 2003 | 118 | 414 | +72% | 1 in 732 |
| 2002 | =179 | 241 | +52% | 1 in 1,204 |
| 2001 | =249 | 159 | -18% | 1 in 1,824 |
| 2000 | =218 | 193 | -1% | 1 in 1,527 |
| 1999 | 213 | 194 | +44% | 1 in 1,560 |
| 1998 | =281 | 135 | +12% | n/a |
| 1997 | =300 | 121 | +15% | 1 in 2,591 |
| 1996 | 335 | 105 | 1 in 3,009 |
* ONS’s girls’ 2013 file repeats the May total as April, so the 2013 births total is about 1,360 too high and 1 in X for 2013 is slightly too high. 1 in X is not shown for girls in 1998: one monthly total is missing from the ONS girls’ 1998 file. 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 Tilly
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Tilly 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