Imelda

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Imelda: Recorded since 1964, its highest recorded position is #80, and it stood at #2,115 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
54times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#80highest recorded position
16groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1997–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1997	#3824
1999	#3900
2000	#3912
2002	#4137
2009	#4564
2011	#2150
2012	#2717
2013	#3536
2014	#2659
2015	#2496
2016	#2547
2017	#1681
2018	#3178
2019	#1562
2020	#1618
2021	#1962
2022	#3533
2023	#1959
2024	#2115

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

RisingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in every year from 1964 to 1998.

In 1997: #346 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #3824 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1964–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #87 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1964–1998
Highest recorded position: #80 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 1965 (recorded 1964–1998).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2115 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Imelda appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 35 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 1,146 births with the name.

Imelda 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.

Imelda'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 · Girls	#87 (1964)	#80 (1965)	#498 (1998)	35 of 35	1,146 (1964–1998)	80 (1965)
England and Wales · Girls	#3824 (1997)	#1562 (2019)	#2115 (2024)	19 of 28	181 (1997–2024)	19 (2019)

Imelda by decade in Republic of Ireland · 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 Imelda in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960sbusiest	396	6 of 10	66
1970s	483	10 of 10	48
1980s	197	10 of 10	20
1990s	70	9 of 10	8

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1960s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 66 births a year.

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

Imelda 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 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #80 in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Imelda'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	#2115	13	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#1959	14	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#3533	6	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#1962	14	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1618	18	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#1562	19	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#3178	7	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#1681	18	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#2547	10	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#2496	10	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#2659	9	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#3536	6	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2717	9	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#2150	12	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#4564	4	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#4137	3	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#3912	3	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#3900	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#3824	3	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#498	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#346	8	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#356	7	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#272	12	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#502	3	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#300	10	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#338	8	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#338	8	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#281	11	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#300	10	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#381	6	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#242	16	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#285	12	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#227	19	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#210	24	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#199	25	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#181	31	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#199	29	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#211	25	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#188	31	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#172	38	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#131	55	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#123	64	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#153	44	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#136	55	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#152	44	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#164	36	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#121	59	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#120	57	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#113	61	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#110	57	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#103	60	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#93	68	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#80	80	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#87	70	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 1964 and 2024, ranked in 53 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #80, first reached in 1965.

It held a top-100 place in 3 years, 3 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 80 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 6 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1997, and 33 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.

Imara · #2253, 22y
Imari · #3449, 9y
Imisioluwa · #2888, 9y
Immanuel · #451, 29y

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.

Dolores · #80, 56y
Rosaleen · #80, 51y
Anny · #79, 56y
Elvira · #81, 50y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Daragh · #80, 62y
Dolores · #80, 56y
Rosaleen · #80, 51y
Rupert · #80, 35y

Imelda was ranked #80 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 1965. 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.

Imelda 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 Imelda without appearing here.

Imelda moved ahead of

Kirsten Compare
In 2018 they stood at #3178 and #1977 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #1562 and #5591.
Evan Compare
In 2010 they stood at #4137 and #4137 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #2150 and #5785.
Finlay Compare
In 2010 they stood at #4564 and #4564 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #2150 and #5785.
Kari Compare
In 2010 they stood at #4137 and #2868 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #2150 and #5785.

Moved ahead of Imelda

Rory Compare
In 2021 they stood at #1962 and #2201 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2022 that had become #3533 and #1452.
Fiadh Compare
In 2017 they stood at #1681 and #2502 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #3178 and #1436.
Noah Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1959 and #3218 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #2115 and #1743.
Jasmine Compare
In 1993 they stood at #300 and #340 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1994 that had become #502 and #174.

Moved the opposite way to Imelda

Aoife Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 while Aoife went from #206 to #4.
Clodagh Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 while Clodagh went from #149 to #39.
Eva Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 while Eva went from #257 to #66.
Grace Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 while Grace went from #118 to #32.

Moved the same way as Imelda

Alice Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 and Alice from #57 to #90.
Angela Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 and Angela from #24 to #252.
Anita Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 and Anita from #130 to #380.
Ann Compare
Between 1964 and 1998 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Imelda went from #87 to #498 and Ann from #4 to #152.

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 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #80 in Republic of Ireland in 1965. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Imelda

Imelda at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Imelda across 2 official records

Imelda by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Imelda 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 Imelda

Imelda and the names beside it

Imelda moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Imelda

Moved the opposite way to Imelda

Moved the same way as Imelda

Imelda at a glance

Imelda across 2 official records

Imelda by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Imelda 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 Imelda

Imelda and the names beside it

Imelda moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Imelda

Moved the opposite way to Imelda

Moved the same way as Imelda