Wesley

maleStatistical record

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

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

Wesley: Recorded since 1967, it reached #62 in 1977, and it stood at #545 in 2024.

5registrars recorded it
81times a registrar ranked it
58years from first to last
#62highest recorded position
18groupings 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	#178
1997	#224
1998	#210
1999	#224
2000	#233
2001	#250
2002	#230
2003	#267
2004	#265
2005	#349
2006	#387
2007	#392
2008	#518
2009	#481
2010	#531
2011	#546
2012	#559
2013	#655
2014	#643
2015	#526
2016	#594
2017	#644
2018	#786
2019	#694
2020	#627
2021	#618
2022	#585
2023	#625
2024	#545

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 47 of the 57 years from 1967 to 2023.

In 2024: #545 among boys in England and Wales, #619 among boys in Scotland.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1967–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1967
First recorded at #265 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1967 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1967–2023
Highest recorded position: #62 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1977 (recorded 1967–2023).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #545 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Wesley appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 47 years beginning in 1967, and has registered 859 births with the name.

Wesley across 3 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.

Wesley'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	#265 (1967)	#62 (1977)	#770 (2023)	47 of 57	859 (1967–2023)	155 (1977)
England and Wales · Boys	#178 (1996)	#178 (1996)	#545 (2024)	29 of 29	2,513 (1996–2024)	185 (1996)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#240 (1998)	#240 (1998)	#415 (2015)	3 of 18	10 (1998–2015)	4 (1998)

Wesley 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 Wesley in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	7	2 of 10	4
1970sbusiest	318	9 of 10	35
1980s	314	10 of 10	31
1990s	145	10 of 10	15
2000s	47	9 of 10	5
2010s	22	5 of 10	4
2020s	6	2 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade — the 9 years of it this list covers, averaging 35 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1976 and 1977, when recorded births rose by 138, from 17 to 155.

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

Wesley 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 1967 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #62 in Republic of Ireland in 1977.

Wesley'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	#545	70	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#625	57	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#585	64	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#618	60	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#627	55	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#694	48	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#786	41	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#644	55	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#594	61	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#526	73	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#643	53	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#655	51	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#559	65	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#546	64	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#531	65	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#481	74	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#518	66	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#392	92	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#387	89	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#349	90	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#265	123	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#267	113	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#230	130	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#250	113	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#233	130	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#224	136	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#210	151	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#224	139	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#178	185	High	Verified
1978	New South Wales, Australia	male	#89	82	Insufficient	Not yet available
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#415	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#357	3	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#240	4	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#770	3	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#779	3	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#764	3	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#572	5	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#547	5	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#548	5	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#611	4	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#604	4	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#529	5	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#473	5	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#493	4	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#343	7	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#299	8	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#423	4	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#348	5	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#312	5	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#222	8	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#280	5	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#174	17	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#208	11	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#168	16	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#174	14	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#165	19	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#167	18	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#159	20	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#169	17	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#149	23	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#131	31	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#135	30	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#130	31	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#126	33	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#130	28	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#136	28	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#131	32	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#122	40	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#124	38	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#117	43	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#94	69	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#62	155	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#174	17	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#272	5	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#209	10	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#279	4	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#204	9	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#235	6	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#243	4	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#265	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#619	4	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
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 5 registrars between 1967 and 2024, ranked in 56 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #62, first reached in 1977.

It held a top-100 place in 2 years, 2 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 185 births, registered in England and Wales in 1996.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1978, and 57 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.

Werner · #179, 53y
Weronika · #219, 43y
Westley · #293, 24y
Weston · #637, 20y

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.

Lindsay · #58, 55y
Jakub · #57, 53y
Nadine · #68, 57y
Ricky · #68, 56y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Angelica · #62, 57y
Allison · #63, 61y
Theresa · #61, 61y
Agnieszka · #64, 47y

Wesley was ranked #62 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1977. 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.

Wesley 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 Wesley without appearing here.

Wesley moved ahead of

Mitchell Compare
In 2018 they stood at #786 and #763 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #694 and #1217.
Shane Compare
In 2019 they stood at #694 and #642 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #627 and #921.
Florence Compare
In 1976 they stood at #272 and #218 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 1977 that had become #62 and #293.
Ross Compare
In 2018 they stood at #786 and #777 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #694 and #894.

Moved ahead of Wesley

Kristian Compare
In 2018 they stood at #572 and #749 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2019 that had become #764 and #466.
Tadhg Compare
In 2022 they stood at #585 and #600 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #625 and #419.
Mathias Compare
In 2017 they stood at #644 and #709 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #786 and #584.
Mohammed Compare
In 2005 they stood at #343 and #448 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2006 that had become #493 and #314.

Moved the opposite way to Wesley

Adam Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 while Adam went from #245 to #23.
Alexander Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 while Alexander went from #137 to #48.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 while Benjamin went from #132 to #71.
Cian Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 while Cian went from #187 to #29.

Moved the same way as Wesley

Adrian Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 and Adrian from #65 to #268.
Alfred Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 and Alfred from #208 to #472.
Denis Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 and Denis from #27 to #224.
Edward Compare
Between 1967 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Wesley went from #265 to #770 and Edward from #17 to #177.

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 1967 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #62 in Republic of Ireland in 1977. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Wesley

Wesley at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Wesley across 3 official records

Wesley by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Wesley 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 Wesley

Wesley and the names beside it

Wesley moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Wesley

Moved the opposite way to Wesley

Moved the same way as Wesley

Wesley at a glance

Wesley across 3 official records

Wesley by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Wesley 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 Wesley

Wesley and the names beside it

Wesley moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Wesley

Moved the opposite way to Wesley

Moved the same way as Wesley