Basil

maleStatistical record

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

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

Basil: Recorded since 1964, its highest recorded position is #185, and it stood at #1,282 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
41times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#185highest recorded position
12groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1765
1997	#2022
1998	#1367
1999	#1281
2000	#2501
2001	#1467
2002	#1322
2003	#1188
2004	#1878
2005	#1190
2006	#1744
2007	#1578
2008	#1511
2009	#1749
2010	#1289
2011	#1688
2012	#1119
2013	#2660
2014	#2690
2015	#1511
2016	#1498
2017	#1812
2018	#2112
2019	#1439
2020	#1492
2021	#1023
2022	#1366
2023	#1906
2024	#1282

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 · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 12 of the 57 years from 1964 to 2020.

In 2020: #741 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #1492 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1964–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #232 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2020
Highest recorded position: #185 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1966 (recorded 1964–2020).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #1282 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Basil appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 29 ranked years and 381 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Boys, from 1964.

Basil 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.

Basil'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	#232 (1964)	#185 (1966)	#741 (2020)	12 of 57	49 (1964–2020)	7 (1966)
England and Wales · Boys	#1765 (1996)	#1023 (2021)	#1282 (2024)	29 of 29	381 (1996–2024)	28 (2021)

Basil by decade in England and Wales · 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 Basil in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	30	4 of 10	8
2000s	112	10 of 10	11
2010s	143	10 of 10	14
2020sbusiest	96	5 of 10	19

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 19 births a year.

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

Basil 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 2 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #185 in Republic of Ireland in 1966.

Basil'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	#1282	21	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1906	12	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1366	19	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1023	28	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1492	16	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1439	17	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#2112	10	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1812	13	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#1498	17	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#1511	16	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2690	7	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#2660	7	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#1119	24	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1688	13	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1289	19	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1749	12	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1511	14	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1578	13	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1744	10	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1190	17	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1878	8	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1188	14	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1322	11	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1467	9	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#2501	4	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1281	10	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1367	9	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2022	5	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1765	6	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#741	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#317	3	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#326	3	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#290	4	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#320	3	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#230	7	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#242	6	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#278	4	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#265	3	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#185	7	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#250	3	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#232	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
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 2 registrars between 1964 and 2024, ranked in 40 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #185, first reached in 1966.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 28 births, registered in England and Wales in 2021.

Its record falls into 6 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 9 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 32 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.

Bartlomiej · #202, 47y
Bartosz · #148, 49y
Basit · #500, 22y
Basma · #2090, 25y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 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.

Terese · #184, 40y
Sina · #188, 41y
Cecil · #181, 38y
Gerrard · #181, 37y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Domhnall · #185, 52y
Iain · #186, 53y
Kilian · #184, 54y
Radoslaw · #184, 41y

Basil was ranked #185 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1966. 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.

Basil 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 Basil without appearing here.

Basil moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1906 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1282 and #5119.
Garry Compare
In 2013 they stood at #2660 and #2216 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #2690 and #4632.
Shannon Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1467 and #1467 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #1322 and #3225.
Courtney Compare
In 2015 they stood at #2690 and #2690 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2016 that had become #1498 and #3079.

Moved ahead of Basil

Tadhg Compare
In 2012 they stood at #1119 and #1152 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #2660 and #1339.
Kasper Compare
In 2005 they stood at #1190 and #1617 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2006 that had become #1744 and #1168.
Arlo Compare
In 2001 they stood at #1467 and #1949 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #1322 and #848.
Aksel Compare
In 2021 they stood at #1023 and #1688 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #1366 and #1224.

Moved the opposite way to Basil

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 while Alexander went from #116 to #40.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 while Benjamin went from #139 to #50.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 while Conor went from #56 to #5.
Daniel Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 while Daniel went from #19 to #4.

Moved the same way as Basil

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 and Adrian from #65 to #211.
Alan Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 and Alan from #29 to #204.
Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 and Alfred from #134 to #271.
Andrew Compare
Between 1964 and 2020 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Basil went from #232 to #741 and Andrew from #34 to #93.

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 2 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #185 in Republic of Ireland in 1966. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Basil

Basil at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Basil across 2 official records

Basil by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Basil appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Basil

Basil and the names beside it

Basil moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Basil

Moved the opposite way to Basil

Moved the same way as Basil

Basil at a glance

Basil across 2 official records

Basil by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Basil appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Basil

Basil and the names beside it

Basil moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Basil

Moved the opposite way to Basil

Moved the same way as Basil