Thirty years of Willow
Willow in numbers
Willow has risen from 24 girls in 1996 to 1,384 in 2025, though it is below its peak of 2,067 in 2021. Its biggest three-year rise came between 2014 and 2017, from 1,142 to 1,764. It ranked 891st in 1996, reached 9th in 2023 and ranks 20th now. On average it was given to 37 girls a year in the late 1990s, 236 in the 2000s, 1,289 in the 2010s and 1,769 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-7%1,481 to 1,384
- 5 years-30%1,982 to 1,384
- 10 years+6%1,308 to 1,384
- 20 years+613%194 to 1,384
- Since 1996×5824 to 1,384
- Total, 1996 to 202526,011girls
† 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 20 · ONS · 1,481 in 2024
Rank 27 · NRS · 106 in 2024
Rank 68 · NISRA · 39 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 | 20 | 1,384 | -7% | 1 in 206 |
| 2024 | 21 | 1,481 | -19% | 1 in 196 |
| 2023 | 9 | 1,833 | -2% | 1 in 157 |
| 2022 | 11 | 1,867 | -10% | 1 in 158 |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,067 | +4% | 1 in 147 |
| 2020 | =12 | 1,982 | -1% | 1 in 151 |
| 2019 | 19 | 1,995 | +5% | 1 in 156 |
| 2018 | 20 | 1,900 | +8% | 1 in 168 |
| 2017 | 26 | 1,764 | +15% | 1 in 188 |
| 2016 | 32 | 1,536 | +17% | 1 in 221 |
| 2015 | 41 | 1,308 | +15% | 1 in 260 |
| 2014 | 51 | 1,142 | +6% | 1 in 296 |
| 2013 * | 54 | 1,074 | +20% | 1 in 318 |
| 2012 | 69 | 892 | +16% | 1 in 398 |
| 2011 | 75 | 772 | +51% | 1 in 457 |
| 2010 | =112 | 511 | +4% | 1 in 689 |
| 2009 | 108 | 493 | +34% | 1 in 698 |
| 2008 | =146 | 369 | +24% | 1 in 937 |
| 2007 | 179 | 298 | +37% | 1 in 1,126 |
| 2006 | =222 | 218 | +12% | 1 in 1,501 |
| 2005 | =236 | 194 | -13% | 1 in 1,625 |
| 2004 | =208 | 222 | +36% | 1 in 1,403 |
| 2003 | =257 | 163 | -4% | 1 in 1,859 |
| 2002 | =238 | 169 | +7% | 1 in 1,716 |
| 2001 | =251 | 158 | +116% | 1 in 1,835 |
| 2000 | =427 | 73 | +26% | 1 in 4,038 |
| 1999 | =498 | 58 | +35% | 1 in 5,217 |
| 1998 | =597 | 43 | +105% | n/a |
| 1997 | =983 | 21 | -13% | 1 in 14,929 |
| 1996 | =891 | 24 | 1 in 13,166 |
* 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 Willow
Draws the second name on the chart above, on a shared scale.
Share and download
Willow 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
Willow is in our lists: Nature baby names.