Desire

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Desire: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Desire: Recorded since 2000, it reached #1,977 in 2018, and it stood at #3,015 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
29times a registrar ranked it
25years from first to last
#1977highest recorded position
5groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 2000–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
2000	#3912
2004	#2802
2005	#2970
2006	#3548
2007	#5201
2008	#4524
2009	#3422
2010	#3156
2011	#3549
2012	#4838
2013	#2460
2014	#4684
2015	#3615
2016	#3214
2017	#4063
2018	#1977
2019	#3151
2020	#4535
2021	#2942
2022	#3148
2023	#2689
2024	#3015

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in 22 of the 25 years from 2000 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 2000–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded2000
First recorded at #3912 among girls in England and Wales in 2000 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded2000–2024
Highest recorded position: #1977 among girls in England and Wales, in 2018 (recorded 2000–2024).
England and Wales · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3015 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Desire appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, which has ranked it in 22 years beginning in 2000, and has registered 139 births with the name.

Desire across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Desire's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Girls	#3912 (2000)	#1977 (2018)	#3015 (2024)	22 of 25	139 (2000–2024)	14 (2018)
England and Wales · Boys	#3095 (2007)	#2804 (2016)	#5119 (2024)	7 of 18	31 (2007–2024)	7 (2016)

Desire by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Desire in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
2000s	33	7 of 10	5
2010sbusiest	70	10 of 10	7
2020s	36	5 of 10	7

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 7 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Desire appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 2000 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1977 in England and Wales in 2018.

Desire's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#3015	8	High	Verified
2024	England and Wales	male	#5119	3	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#2689	9	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#3148	7	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#4001	4	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#2942	8	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#4535	4	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#3151	7	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#1977	14	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#3959	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#4063	5	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#3214	7	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2804	7	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#3615	6	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#2460	10	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#4838	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#4805	3	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#3549	6	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#3156	7	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#3332	5	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#3422	6	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#4524	4	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#5201	3	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#3095	5	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#3548	5	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2970	6	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#2802	6	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#3912	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 2000 and 2024, ranked in 22 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #1,977, first reached in 2018.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 14 births, registered in England and Wales in 2018.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 3 years.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Derya · #2407, 20y
Deryn · #896, 26y
Desiree · #331, 53y
Desmond · #43, 68y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Chani · #1977, 23y
Dolce · #1977, 20y
Dilpreet · #1979, 21y
Lady · #1979, 22y

Also first recorded in the 2000s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 2000 and 2009.

Dolce · #1977, 20y
Pratham · #1981, 20y
Rilee · #1981, 12y
Zephan · #1981, 20y

Desire and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Desire without appearing here.

Desire moved ahead of

Kristy Compare
In 2017 they stood at #4684 and #4684 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #1977 and #5666.
Kari Compare
In 2012 they stood at #4838 and #4838 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2013 that had become #2460 and #5742.
Tracey Compare
In 2022 they stood at #4535 and #4535 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #2689 and #5687.
Hayden Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2689 and #2346 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #3015 and #5891.

Moved ahead of Desire

Braxton Compare
In 2011 they stood at #3332 and #4678 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #4805 and #569.
Rory Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3151 and #4001 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #4535 and #1939.
Arlo Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3151 and #3541 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #4535 and #2843.
Willow Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2804 and #3079 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #3959 and #2445.

Moved the opposite way to Desire

Finlay Compare
Between 2000 and 2018 in England and Wales · Girls, Desire went from #3912 to #1977 while Finlay went from #782 to #4684.
Helene Compare
Between 2000 and 2018 in England and Wales · Girls, Desire went from #3912 to #1977 while Helene went from #2746 to #4684.
Jayden Compare
Between 2000 and 2018 in England and Wales · Girls, Desire went from #3912 to #1977 while Jayden went from #1139 to #5666.
Kristy Compare
Between 2000 and 2018 in England and Wales · Girls, Desire went from #3912 to #1977 while Kristy went from #876 to #5666.

Moved the same way as Desire

Blake Compare
Between 2007 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Desire went from #5201 to #3015 and Blake from #5201 to #432.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 2000 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #1977 in England and Wales in 2018. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Desire

Desire at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Desire across 2 official records

Desire by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Desire appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 2000s

Desire and the names beside it

Desire moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Desire

Moved the opposite way to Desire

Moved the same way as Desire

Desire at a glance

Desire across 2 official records

Desire by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Desire appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 2000s

Desire and the names beside it

Desire moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Desire

Moved the opposite way to Desire

Moved the same way as Desire