Ely

maleStatistical record

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

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

Ely: Recorded since 1996, it reached #506 in 2004, and it stood at #2,671 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
30times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#506highest recorded position
9groupings 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	#2357
1997	#2859
1998	#2419
1999	#2943
2001	#1746
2004	#2578
2005	#2174
2006	#3385
2007	#2435
2008	#3158
2009	#2837
2010	#1724
2011	#2390
2012	#2117
2013	#4685
2014	#3362
2015	#3004
2016	#2556
2017	#2172
2018	#3959
2019	#3937
2020	#2228
2021	#4789
2022	#2320
2023	#4991
2024	#2671

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 26 of the 29 years from 1996 to 2024.

In 2016: #713 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #2556 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #2357 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded2004–2016
Highest recorded position: #506 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2004 (recorded 2004–2016).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2671 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Ely appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 26 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 158 births with the name.

Ely 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.

Ely'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	#2357 (1996)	#1724 (2010)	#2671 (2024)	26 of 29	158 (1996–2024)	13 (2010)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#506 (2004)	#506 (2004)	#713 (2016)	4 of 13	15 (2004–2016)	5 (2013)

Ely 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 Ely in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	14	4 of 10	4
2000s	41	7 of 10	6
2010sbusiest	71	10 of 10	7
2020s	32	5 of 10	6

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 7 births a year.

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

Ely 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 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #506 in Republic of Ireland in 2004.

Ely'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	#2671	8	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#4991	3	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#2320	9	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#2228	9	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#3937	4	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#3959	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#2172	10	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2556	8	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#3004	6	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#3362	5	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#4685	3	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2117	10	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#2390	8	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1724	13	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#2837	6	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#3158	5	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#2435	7	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#3385	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2174	7	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#2578	5	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1746	7	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#2943	3	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#2419	4	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2859	3	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#2357	4	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#713	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#534	5	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#623	4	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#506	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 1996 and 2024, ranked in 26 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #506, first reached in 2004.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 13 births, registered in England and Wales in 2010.

Its record falls into 3 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2004, and 8 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.

Elwood · #810, 20y
Elwyn · #1595, 21y
Elyan · #2259, 12y
Elyana · #980, 16y

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.

Ahad · #506, 29y
Boluwatife · #506, 25y
Chidera · #506, 24y
Danish · #506, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Ahad · #506, 29y
Boluwatife · #506, 25y
Chesney · #506, 13y
Chidera · #506, 24y

Ely was ranked #506 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 2004. 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.

Ely 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 Ely without appearing here.

Ely moved ahead of

Shannon Compare
In 2016 they stood at #4685 and #3822 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2017 that had become #2172 and #4812.
Glenn Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4991 and #4991 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2671 and #5119.
Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4991 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2671 and #5119.
Jade Compare
In 2023 they stood at #4991 and #2813 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2671 and #5119.

Moved ahead of Ely

Aksel Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2117 and #3416 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #4685 and #2403.
Gunnar Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2172 and #3040 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #3959 and #1786.
Matheo Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2172 and #4812 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #3959 and #2693.
Malin Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3959 and #4749 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #3937 and #2728.

Moved the same way as Ely

Garry Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Ely went from #2357 to #4991 and Garry from #573 to #4991.
Graeme Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Ely went from #2357 to #4991 and Graeme from #755 to #4107.
Nicola Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Ely went from #2357 to #4991 and Nicola from #2863 to #4107.
Kelly Compare
Between 1997 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Ely went from #2859 to #4991 and Kelly from #1454 to #3523.

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 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #506 in Republic of Ireland in 2004. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Ely

Ely at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ely across 2 official records

Ely by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Ely 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 Ely

Ely and the names beside it

Ely moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ely

Moved the same way as Ely

Ely at a glance

Ely across 2 official records

Ely by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Ely 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 Ely

Ely and the names beside it

Ely moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ely

Moved the same way as Ely