Most Popular Baby Boy Names in England and Wales 2024 (ONS) and Their Meanings

Every year the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes the first names of babies whose births were registered in England and Wales. At the top of the 2024 boys' list nothing changed: Muhammad is number one for the second year running, with 5,721 babies. The more striking story sits further down. A third of the top 30 are names that started life as nicknames – Alfie, Freddie, Archie, Charlie – and they are not what the family calls the boy at home. They are what is written on the birth registration.

Below you will find the 2024 top 30 with the number of babies, meaning, origin, Arabic spelling and Abjad value of each name. After that we compare short forms with their full forms, follow the classic royal names, and look at what the list shows through the lens of Abjad (Ebced) numerology.

The 30 Most Popular Boy Names in England and Wales in 2024

The counts are births registered in England and Wales in 2024. The ONS counts every spelling separately, so Muhammad, Mohammed and Mohammad appear as three different names. The Abjad value is calculated from the established Arabic-script spelling of each name. Abjad works on Arabic letters, so a name written in Latin letters has no single "true" value until its Arabic spelling is fixed.

What Changed in One Year?

Muhammad rose from 4,661 to 5,721 babies, an increase of 1,060 and the biggest gain anywhere in the top 30. Noah, in second place, was given to 4,139 boys, leaving a gap of 1,582. Most names in the top 10 were given to fewer babies than in 2023; only Muhammad, Theodore, Oscar and Archie grew.

• Fastest climbers: Rory went from 33rd to 24th, Elijah from 31st to 23rd, Louie from 36th to 28th and Mohammed from 28th to 21st. Elijah, Rory and Louie entered the top 30 with that jump.
• At the door of the top 10: Archie moved from 13th to 10th and into the top 10, while Henry slipped from 10th to 14th. Jude rose from 2,177 to 2,540 babies and from 15th to 11th.
• Fallers: Thomas dropped from 19th to 26th, Teddy from 23rd to 29th and Jacob from 24th to 30th. Edward, Isaac and Tommy fell out of the top 30.

Not a Nickname, an Official Name

Calling Alfred "Alfie" or Frederick "Freddie" is an old English habit. Today many parents simply register the short form. Ten of the 30 names in the table – Archie, Theo, Freddie, Alfie, Charlie, Albie, Harry, Jack, Louie and Teddy – began as a short, pet or vernacular form of another name. Together they were given to 19,625 boys in 2024.

And the full forms? Because the ONS counts only the spelling that was registered, the two can be set side by side:

In eight of the ten pairs the short form is ahead. Archibald, Charles and John are not even in the 2024 top 100. The two exceptions are Theodore and Henry, both chosen more often than their short forms Theo and Harry. Teddy and Edward are almost level at 1,506 against 1,461 – and Teddy can also be short for Theodore.

Royal and Legendary Names: Arthur Moves Ahead

The classic names of English history are still strong, but they are swapping places. Arthur climbed from 6th to 4th and overtook George. Curiously, Arthur was actually given to slightly fewer babies (3,387 → 3,368); what changed the order was George's steeper drop (3,494 → 3,257). In 2021 George was 3rd and Arthur 4th. In the regional tables Arthur is number one in the South East and the South West of England.

Arthur is forever linked with the King Arthur of British legend, although the meaning of the name itself is uncertain. Henry, the name of eight English kings, fell from 10th to 14th, William rose from 29th to 27th, and Edward slipped from 30th to 31st, just outside the top 30.

Three Spellings, One Name: Muhammad, Mohammed, Mohammad

The ONS spelling rule splits the name of the Prophet Muhammad into three rows: Muhammad 1st (5,721), Mohammed 21st (1,760) and Mohammad 53rd (986). These rows cannot be added into an official rank, but if the spellings were combined, purely as an illustration, they would come to 8,467 babies in 2024 (7,097 in 2023). In Abjad they are one and the same name: محمد = م 40 + ح 8 + م 40 + د 4 = 92. Abjad reads the Arabic letters, not the differences in Latin spelling.

Muhammad is number one in five of England's nine regions. Wales tells a different story: in the separate Welsh list, the 2024 leader is Noah with 237 babies. Lower in the top 100 you also find the names of prophets mentioned in the Qur'an: Adam at 35, Yusuf at 67, Musa at 73, Ibrahim at 77 and Yahya at 93. Yusuf climbed from 79th, Musa from 85th and Ibrahim from 83rd, while Yahya was not in the 2023 top 100 at all.

The List Through the Lens of Abjad

The highest value in the top 30 belongs to Charlie: تشارلي = 941, thanks to ت (400) and ش (300), which together render the "ch" sound, plus ر (200). Arthur is second with 901, carried by ث (500) and two ر (200 + 200) in آرثر. The lowest value is Jude: جود = ج 3 + و 6 + د 4 = 13.

• Shared values: Leo (ليو) and Louie (لوي) are both 46; Muhammad and Mohammed are both 92.
• Spelling changes the value: Archie is 511 as آرشي but 911 as أرتشي. Theodore is 726 as ثيودور and 626 as تيودور.
• Traditional counterparts: the usual Arabic spelling of Jacob, جاكوب, is 32, while يعقوب, the name of the Prophet Jacob (Ya'qub) in the Qur'an, is 188. Elijah إليجاه is 50; إلياس (Ilyas) is 102. Noah نواه is 62; نوح (Nuh) is 64.
• First letters of the top 10: using the classical classification of the site's reports, five Fire letters (م and four alifs), two Earth (ل), two Water (ج, ث) and one Air (ن). Some authors order the elements differently.

None of this makes one spelling "luckier". What it shows is that in Abjad the spelling has to be settled first. A name's value on its own is not an analysis either; the real question is how its letters and value combine with the mother's and father's names.

A Checklist for Families Choosing a Name for Two Languages

Picture a Turkish family living in England looking for a name that is easy to say in both Turkish and English. Adam, Yusuf or Musa are familiar in both; Leo and Luca are short and simple to pronounce. These questions help narrow the choice:

1. Which Latin spelling will go on the registration – Mohammed or Muhammad?
2. Which Arabic spelling will you use? The Abjad value depends on it.
3. Do the meaning and origin match what matters to your family?
4. Short form or full form? Alfie and Alfred have different letters and different values.

The Baby Name Finder & Analysis report examines both parents' names letter by letter, draws the family's element map and lists suitable name suggestions with their Abjad value, element and meaning. If you already have a name in mind, the Baby Name Family Compatibility report shows mother–father, mother–baby and father–baby compatibility scores and the family's energy map.

This article covers the 2024 data; the ONS has since published a newer list.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Baby names in England and Wales – licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts are births registered in England and Wales in 2024. Abjad readings are a traditional method of interpretation; a name cannot be said to determine a child's future, and the final choice always rests with the family.