Cael

maleStatistical record

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

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

Cael: Recorded since 1997, it reached #311 in 2011, and it stood at #339 in 2024.

3registrars recorded it
37times a registrar ranked it
28years from first to last
#311highest recorded position
8groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1997–2018

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#2337
1999	#2943
2000	#2142
2001	#1595
2002	#1651
2003	#1962
2004	#1732
2005	#2174
2006	#1744
2007	#1506
2008	#2507
2009	#3744
2010	#2199
2011	#1909
2012	#2721
2013	#2055
2014	#1935
2015	#2707
2016	#4023
2018	#3011

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 England and Wales in 20 of the 22 years from 1997 to 2018.

In 2016: #601 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #4023 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1997–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1997
First recorded at #2337 among boys in England and Wales in 1997 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded2011–2024
Highest recorded position: #311 among boys in Northern Ireland, in 2011 (recorded 2011–2024).
Northern Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #339 among boys in Northern Ireland, in 2024.
Northern Ireland · Boys

Cael appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 20 years beginning in 1997, and has registered 151 births with the name.

Cael 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.

Cael'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 · Boys	#2337 (1997)	#1506 (2007)	#3011 (2018)	20 of 22	151 (1997–2018)	14 (2007)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#317 (2001)	#317 (2001)	#601 (2016)	12 of 16	56 (2001–2016)	6 (2005)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#311 (2011)	#311 (2011)	#339 (2024)	5 of 14	17 (2011–2024)	4 (2011)

Cael 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 Cael in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	7	2 of 10	4
2000sbusiest	79	10 of 10	8
2010s	65	8 of 10	8

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 8 births a year.

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

Cael 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 3 regions, from 1997 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #311 in Northern Ireland in 2011.

Cael'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
2018	England and Wales	male	#3011	6	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4023	4	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2707	7	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#1935	11	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#2055	10	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2721	7	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1909	11	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#2199	9	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#3744	4	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#2507	7	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1506	14	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1744	10	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2174	7	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1732	9	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1962	7	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1651	8	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1595	8	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#2142	5	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#2943	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2337	4	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	male	#339	4	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#415	3	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	male	#398	3	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#403	3	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#311	4	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#601	4	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#534	5	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#548	5	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#623	4	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#532	5	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#472	6	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#629	3	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#423	5	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#370	6	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#390	5	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#451	3	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#317	5	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

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 3 registrars between 1997 and 2024, ranked in 21 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #311, first reached in 2011.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 14 births, registered in England and Wales in 2007.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2001, and 14 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.

Caedan · #358, 7y
Caeden · #550, 18y
Caela · #212, 15y
Caelan · #43, 30y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 3 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.

Auguste · #311, 20y
Dovydas · #311, 19y
Ksawery · #311, 18y
Teja · #311, 24y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Jada · #311, 29y
Katie-Lee · #311, 9y
Kobie · #311, 27y
Kylan · #311, 30y

Cael was ranked #311 in Northern Ireland · Boys in 2011. 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.

Cael 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 Cael without appearing here.

Cael moved ahead of

Tayla Compare
In 2012 they stood at #3744 and #2318 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #2055 and #4685.
Brooke Compare
In 2009 they stood at #3744 and #2318 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2010 that had become #2199 and #4678.
Rune Compare
In 2003 they stood at #2943 and #2943 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2004 that had become #1732 and #3651.
Brent Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2721 and #2458 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #2055 and #3822.

Moved ahead of Cael

Mathias Compare
In 2007 they stood at #1506 and #2211 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2008 that had become #2507 and #1511.
Matheo Compare
In 2015 they stood at #2707 and #3908 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2016 that had become #4023 and #3079.
Willow Compare
In 2015 they stood at #1935 and #3362 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2016 that had become #4023 and #3079.
Gustav Compare
In 2014 they stood at #1935 and #2079 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2015 that had become #2707 and #1786.

Moved the opposite way to Cael

Alex Compare
Between 2001 and 2016 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Cael went from #317 to #601 while Alex went from #45 to #17.
Archie Compare
Between 2001 and 2016 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Cael went from #317 to #601 while Archie went from #409 to #117.
Arthur Compare
Between 2001 and 2016 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Cael went from #317 to #601 while Arthur went from #191 to #106.
Blake Compare
Between 2001 and 2016 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Cael went from #317 to #601 while Blake went from #251 to #105.

Moved the same way as Cael

Isak Compare
Between 2000 and 2018 in England and Wales · Boys, Cael went from #2142 to #3011 and Isak from #3036 to #4749.
Malin Compare
Between 2001 and 2018 in England and Wales · Boys, Cael went from #1595 to #3011 and Malin from #3134 to #4749.
Aaron Compare
Between 2001 and 2016 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Cael went from #317 to #601 and Aaron from #12 to #24.
Adam Compare
Between 2001 and 2016 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Cael went from #317 to #601 and Adam from #3 to #7.

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 3 regions, from 1997 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #311 in Northern Ireland in 2011. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Cael

Cael at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Cael across 3 official records

Cael by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Cael 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 Cael

Cael and the names beside it

Cael moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Cael

Moved the opposite way to Cael

Moved the same way as Cael

Cael at a glance

Cael across 3 official records

Cael by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Cael 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 Cael

Cael and the names beside it

Cael moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Cael

Moved the opposite way to Cael

Moved the same way as Cael