Alain

maleStatistical record

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

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

Alain: Recorded since 1975, it reached #249 in 1987, and it was last ranked in 2015.

2registrars recorded it
15times a registrar ranked it
41years from first to last
#249highest recorded position
5groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2015

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2357
1998	#2419
1999	#2425
2003	#3467
2005	#3849
2006	#3385
2007	#3589
2008	#4432
2013	#4685
2014	#3362
2015	#3908

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 4 of the 30 years from 1975 to 2004.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1975–2015 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1975
First recorded at #290 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1975 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1975–2004
Highest recorded position: #249 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1987 (recorded 1975–2004).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2015
Most recently recorded at #3908 among boys in England and Wales, in 2015.
England and Wales · Boys

Alain appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 11 ranked years and 41 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Boys, from 1975.

Alain 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.

Alain'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	#290 (1975)	#249 (1987)	#506 (2004)	4 of 30	15 (1975–2004)	5 (1987)
England and Wales · Boys	#2357 (1996)	#2357 (1996)	#3908 (2015)	11 of 20	41 (1996–2015)	5 (2014)

Alain 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 Alain in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	12	3 of 10	4
2000sbusiest	17	5 of 10	3
2010s	12	3 of 10	4

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 3 births a year.

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

Alain 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 1975 to 2015. Highest recorded position: #249 in Republic of Ireland in 1987.

Alain'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
2015	England and Wales	male	#3908	4	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#3362	5	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#4685	3	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#4432	3	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#3589	4	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#3385	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#3849	3	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#3467	3	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#2425	4	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2419	4	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#2357	4	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#506	3	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#249	5	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#326	3	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#290	4	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 1975 and 2015, ranked in 15 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #249, first reached in 1987.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 5 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1987.

Its record falls into 7 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 8 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 21 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.

5decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 5 decades →
6 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years
7separate stretches the record falls into6 to 9 separate stretches →
8 yearslongest absence inside the recorded period4 to 9 years missing →
#3,908position in 2015, its most recent recorded year
21 yearsyears between the first and last registrar to record itAcross 21 to 40 years →
5births registered in its largest year, 1987Under 25 births →

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.

Alaa · #734, 29y
Alaia · #262, 20y
Alaina · #336, 30y
Alaiya · #811, 12y

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.

Kevan · #249, 19y
Edele · #248, 15y
Padhraig · #248, 13y
Honora · #251, 20y

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1970 and 1979.

Alec · #249, 42y
Deividas · #249, 42y
Asma · #250, 49y
Gediminas · #250, 21y

Alain was ranked #249 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1987. 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.

Alain 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 Alain without appearing here.

Alain moved ahead of

Brooke Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4685 and #3822 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #3362 and #4632.
Graeme Compare
In 2013 they stood at #3385 and #2870 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #3362 and #4632.
Madison Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4685 and #3315 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #3362 and #4632.
Morten Compare
In 2013 they stood at #4432 and #3687 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #3362 and #4632.

Moved ahead of Alain

Arlo Compare
In 2002 they stood at #2425 and #2943 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #3467 and #1188.
Gustav Compare
In 2002 they stood at #2419 and #2901 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #3467 and #2189.
Theodor Compare
In 1997 they stood at #2357 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #2419 and #2074.
Aksel Compare
In 2006 they stood at #3385 and #4052 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #3589 and #3589.

Moved the opposite way to Alain

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 while Albie went from #853 to #107.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 while Alfie went from #119 to #14.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 while Alfred went from #218 to #114.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 while Archie went from #192 to #19.

Moved the same way as Alain

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 and Aaron from #33 to #87.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 and Adam from #16 to #38.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 and Alex from #43 to #75.
Alexander Compare
Between 1996 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Alain went from #2357 to #3908 and Alexander from #14 to #22.

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 1975 to 2015. Highest recorded position: #249 in Republic of Ireland in 1987. Source data last verified 2026-07-25.

Alain

Alain at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Alain across 2 official records

Alain by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Alain appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Alain

Alain and the names beside it

Alain moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Alain

Moved the opposite way to Alain

Moved the same way as Alain

Alain at a glance

Alain across 2 official records

Alain by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Alain appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1970s

Names published alongside Alain

Alain and the names beside it

Alain moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Alain

Moved the opposite way to Alain

Moved the same way as Alain