How Common Is Your Name?

Type your first name and the tool returns its rank in the UK over the past century, the decade it peaked in popularity, and whether it's currently rising, falling or stable. Names like 'Oliver' and 'Noah' are rising sharply (Oliver was rank 16 historically but is the top boys' name in 2025); names like 'Karen' and 'Linda' have collapsed since their 1960s peak. The database covers around 100 male and female names that have appeared in the UK Office for National Statistics top-ranked baby name lists since 1900.

If your name isn't in the database, you're probably either very common (it should be there - try a different spelling) or genuinely rare. The tool also shows a six-decade bar chart so you can eyeball the trend. James was huge in the 1940s (rank 1) and is still strong but no longer top. Sarah peaked in the 1990s. Mary was the dominant girls' name for most of the 20th century and has now fallen off entirely from the top 100.

Names follow generational cycles of around 80 to 100 years. A name your grandmother had (Doris, Edna, Mildred) feels old-fashioned to your parents but charming to your children, who will likely revive it. Names your parents had (Karen, Linda, Susan) are in the trough right now and feel dated, but they'll come back in 30 to 40 years. This is why baby naming consultants advise against picking the dominant name of your own parents' generation; you're picking the name that will feel most aged to your child as they grow up.

Some names break the cycle and become genuinely timeless. James, William, Mary and Elizabeth have stayed in the UK top 30 for over a century. They're 'safe' picks if you want a name that won't date. The downside is that your child will share a classroom with two other Williams. For more naming research, try the [baby name explorer](/baby-name-explorer) or generate options with the [baby name generator](/baby-name-generator).

The data approximates UK ONS baby name records from 1900 to 2020s, sampled in decade buckets (1920s, 1930s, etc.). Rank shown is roughly that name's position in the all-time top 100 across the period. The 'peak' value tells you which decade saw the most babies given that name. The trend label compares the most recent two decades against the earlier four: 'rising' means current popularity exceeds historical average, 'stable' means flat, 'falling' means it's well below its peak.

There are limits. Spelling variants (Sara vs Sarah, Stephen vs Steven) are usually grouped, but not always. Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish names that didn't break into the all-UK top list won't appear; the ONS publishes separate national lists for those, which this tool doesn't currently merge in. Names with strong religious or cultural roots in immigrant communities (Mohammed, Fatima) are in the actual ONS top 100 for the 2010s and 2020s but historical depth is shallow because they weren't recorded as separate entries before mass migration.

If your name is rare (rank 80+) you've got something distinctive. If it's top 10 (currently Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, Mia for girls; Noah, Oliver, George, Arthur, Muhammad for boys), prepare to share it with classmates and colleagues forever. Knowing your name's peak decade is a fun shortcut for guessing someone's age: if you meet a Karen, she's almost certainly born between 1955 and 1975. If you meet an Olivia, she's almost certainly under 25.

Pair this with the [celebrity birthday twin](/celebrity-birthday-twin) tool to find a celebrity who shares both your name and your birthday, which is genuinely rare and a great social media post. If you're picking a baby name, run the candidates through here to avoid accidentally picking something currently surging (your kid will be one of five in their class) or sliding into trough territory (your kid will sound like their grandmother).