Precious

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Precious: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #182 in 2002, and it stood at #885 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
64times a registrar ranked it
30years from first to last
#182highest recorded position
14groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#869
1997	#897
1998	#925
1999	#864
2000	#625
2001	#871
2002	#532
2003	#427
2004	#397
2005	#438
2006	#410
2007	#404
2008	#475
2009	#514
2010	#476
2011	#534
2012	#536
2013	#616
2014	#629
2015	#696
2016	#837
2017	#733
2018	#1083
2019	#920
2020	#1044
2021	#1195
2022	#1416
2023	#1108
2024	#1262

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 · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2024: #638 among girls in Scotland, #1262 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1996–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #869 among girls in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Girls
Highest recorded1999–2025
Highest recorded position: #182 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2002 (recorded 1999–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #885 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Precious appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, which has ranked it in 29 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 1,586 births with the name.

Precious across 4 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.

Precious'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	#869 (1996)	#397 (2004)	#1262 (2024)	29 of 29	1,586 (1996–2024)	102 (2006)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#528 (1999)	#182 (2002)	#885 (2025)	21 of 27	148 (1999–2025)	21 (2002)
England and Wales · Boys	#1991 (2005)	#1991 (2005)	#4991 (2023)	8 of 19	31 (2005–2023)	8 (2005)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#393 (2002)	#393 (2002)	#629 (2007)	4 of 6	13 (2002–2007)	4 (2002)

Precious 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 Precious in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	97	4 of 10	24
2000sbusiest	749	10 of 10	75
2010s	602	10 of 10	60
2020s	138	5 of 10	28

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 75 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2001 and 2002, when recorded births rose by 30, from 26 to 56.

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

Precious 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 4 regions, from 1996 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #182 in Republic of Ireland in 2002.

Precious'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	#1262	26	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#1108	30	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#4991	3	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#1416	22	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#1195	28	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1044	32	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#920	39	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#1083	32	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#733	55	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#837	45	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4810	3	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#696	58	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#629	64	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#4632	3	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#616	66	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3822	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#536	79	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#534	78	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#476	86	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#4678	3	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#514	78	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#475	84	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#3687	4	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#404	102	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#4333	3	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#410	102	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#438	84	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1991	8	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#397	94	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#427	82	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#532	56	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#871	26	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#625	41	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#864	25	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#925	23	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#897	24	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#869	25	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	female	#439	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#885	3	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#559	6	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#764	4	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#700	4	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#661	5	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#896	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#587	6	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#612	6	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#510	8	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#758	4	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#582	6	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#501	8	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#431	9	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#629	3	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#550	5	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#596	3	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#461	6	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#317	10	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#506	3	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#189	20	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#182	21	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#393	4	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#335	8	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#536	3	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#528	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#638	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1996 and 2025, ranked in 30 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #182, first reached in 2002.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 102 births, registered in England and Wales in 2006.

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.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1999, and 28 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.

Pratham · #1981, 20y
Preben · #81, 66y
Preesha · #3447, 11y
Prem · #1127, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 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.

Aston · #181, 29y
Kody · #181, 30y
Rudy · #181, 30y
Ally · #180, 30y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Balder · #182, 31y
Aston · #181, 29y
Kody · #181, 30y
Rudy · #181, 30y

Precious was ranked #182 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 2002. 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.

Precious 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 Precious without appearing here.

Precious moved ahead of

Nicola Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1416 and #1282 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #1108 and #2689.
Anita Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1416 and #1215 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #1108 and #2063.
Suzanne Compare
In 2001 they stood at #871 and #871 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #532 and #1317.
Brittany Compare
In 2001 they stood at #871 and #871 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2002 that had become #532 and #1245.

Moved ahead of Precious

Isak Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1991 and #2418 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #4333 and #1440.
Theodor Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1991 and #2418 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #4333 and #1440.
Ole Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1991 and #2754 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #4333 and #1756.
Andrea Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1991 and #2174 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #4333 and #1885.

Moved the opposite way to Precious

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Precious

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Precious went from #869 to #1262 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

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 4 regions, from 1996 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #182 in Republic of Ireland in 2002. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Precious

Precious at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Precious across 4 official records

Precious by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Precious appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Precious

Precious and the names beside it

Precious moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Precious

Moved the opposite way to Precious

Moved the same way as Precious

Precious at a glance

Precious across 4 official records

Precious by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Precious appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Precious

Precious and the names beside it

Precious moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Precious

Moved the opposite way to Precious

Moved the same way as Precious