Desmond

maleStatistical record

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

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

Desmond: Recorded since 1952, it reached #43 in 1964, and it stood at #402 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
103times a registrar ranked it
74years from first to last
#43highest recorded position
22groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1765
1997	#1174
1998	#1642
1999	#1850
2000	#1552
2001	#1467
2002	#1799
2003	#1962
2004	#1498
2005	#2174
2006	#1545
2007	#1506
2008	#1953
2009	#1133
2010	#1620
2011	#2039
2012	#2270
2013	#1617
2014	#1721
2015	#2319
2016	#2556
2017	#1812
2018	#1991
2019	#3013
2020	#1825
2021	#1984
2022	#1879
2023	#2325
2024	#1951

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

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 59 of the 62 years from 1964 to 2025.

In 2024: #785 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #1951 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1952–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1952
First recorded at #78 among boys in New South Wales, Australia in 1952 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New South Wales, Australia · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #43 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1964 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #402 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Desmond appears in 5 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, with 59 ranked years and 2,731 births registered; the earliest is New South Wales, Australia · Boys, from 1952.

Desmond across 5 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.

Desmond'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
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#43 (1964)	#43 (1964)	#402 (2025)	59 of 62	2,731 (1964–2025)	148 (1965)
England and Wales · Boys	#1765 (1996)	#1133 (2009)	#1951 (2024)	29 of 29	300 (1996–2024)	22 (2009)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#248 (1997)	#218 (2001)	#342 (2015)	6 of 19	23 (1997–2015)	5 (2001)
New South Wales, Australia · Boys	#78 (1952)	#78 (1952)	#99 (1956)	5 of 5	338 (1952–1956)	87 (1952)
New Zealand · Boys	#90 (1954)	#86 (1956)	#90 (1958)	4 of 5	224 (1954–1958)	61 (1958)

Desmond by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

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 Desmond in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	800	6 of 10	133
1970s	1,039	10 of 10	104
1980s	533	10 of 10	53
1990s	192	10 of 10	19
2000s	99	10 of 10	10
2010s	41	8 of 10	5
2020s	27	5 of 10	5

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 133 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1972 and 1973, when recorded births fell by 38, from 134 to 96.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Desmond appears in

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

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1952 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #43 in Republic of Ireland in 1964.

Desmond'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	male	#1951	12	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#2325	9	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1879	12	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1984	11	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1825	12	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#3013	6	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1991	11	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1812	13	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2556	8	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2319	9	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#1721	13	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#1617	14	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2270	9	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#2039	10	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1620	14	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1133	22	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1953	10	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1506	14	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1545	12	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2174	7	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1498	11	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1962	7	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1799	7	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1467	9	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1552	8	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1850	6	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1642	7	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1174	11	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1765	6	High	Verified
1956	New South Wales, Australia	male	#99	55	Insufficient	Not yet available
1955	New South Wales, Australia	male	#98	62	Insufficient	Not yet available
1954	New South Wales, Australia	male	#95	62	Insufficient	Not yet available
1953	New South Wales, Australia	male	#88	72	Insufficient	Not yet available
1952	New South Wales, Australia	male	#78	87	Insufficient	Not yet available
1958	New Zealand	male	#90	61	High	Verified
1956	New Zealand	male	#86	58	High	Verified
1955	New Zealand	male	#95	48	High	Verified
1954	New Zealand	male	#90	57	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#342	4	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	male	#378	3	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	male	#307	3	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#218	5	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	male	#241	4	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	male	#248	4	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#402	9	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#785	3	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#660	4	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#572	5	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#498	6	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#764	3	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#610	4	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#554	5	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#508	6	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#605	4	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#430	8	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#455	7	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#611	4	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#386	9	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#346	11	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#282	13	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#271	12	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#403	5	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#263	10	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#266	10	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#216	12	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#251	8	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#223	9	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#214	9	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#168	15	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#158	20	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#176	17	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#168	16	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#180	13	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#176	16	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#141	28	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#133	33	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#149	25	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#142	26	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#110	44	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#115	40	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#118	35	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#101	53	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#104	53	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#96	59	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#87	73	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#91	69	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#86	81	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#85	84	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#79	87	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#76	100	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#80	95	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#79	96	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#78	91	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#81	96	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#62	134	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#63	120	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#55	136	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#52	128	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#52	121	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#51	119	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#46	139	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#45	148	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#43	145	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New South Wales, Australia hub — collected by NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1952 and 2025, ranked in 68 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #43, first reached in 1964.

It held a top-100 place in 26 years, 20 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 148 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1954, and 45 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

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.

Desire · #1977, 22y
Desiree · #331, 53y
Destinee · #1660, 27y
Destiny · #44, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, 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.

Jillian · #44, 63y
Brenda · #41, 71y
Colleen · #41, 64y
Susanne · #41, 71y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Glenda · #43, 41y
Lance · #43, 64y
Roslyn · #43, 62y
Ylva · #43, 58y

Desmond was ranked #43 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1964. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Desmond 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 Desmond without appearing here.

Desmond moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2325 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1951 and #5119.
Robyn Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2325 and #2325 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1951 and #4270.
Geoffrey Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1879 and #1879 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #2325 and #4107.
Keith Compare
In 2023 they stood at #2325 and #2325 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1951 and #3688.

Moved ahead of Desmond

Matheo Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1879 and #2018 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #2325 and #1363.
Arlo Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1467 and #1949 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #1799 and #848.
Hudson Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1799 and #2005 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #1962 and #1092.
Isak Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1879 and #3449 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #2325 and #1461.

Moved the opposite way to Desmond

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 while Alexander went from #116 to #55.
Arthur Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 while Arthur went from #98 to #57.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 while Benjamin went from #139 to #83.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 while Conor went from #56 to #16.

Moved the same way as Desmond

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 and Adrian from #65 to #348.
Alan Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 and Alan from #29 to #232.
Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 and Alfred from #134 to #286.
Andrew Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Desmond went from #43 to #402 and Andrew from #34 to #106.

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.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1952 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #43 in Republic of Ireland in 1964. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Desmond

Desmond at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Desmond across 5 official records

Desmond by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Desmond appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Desmond

Desmond and the names beside it

Desmond moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Desmond

Moved the opposite way to Desmond

Moved the same way as Desmond

Desmond at a glance

Desmond across 5 official records

Desmond by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Desmond appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Desmond

Desmond and the names beside it

Desmond moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Desmond

Moved the opposite way to Desmond

Moved the same way as Desmond