Leigha

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Leigha: Recorded since 1995, it reached #268 in 2012, and it stood at #5,891 in 2024.

3registrars recorded it
58times a registrar ranked it
30years from first to last
#268highest recorded position
13groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#823
1997	#1045
1998	#925
1999	#721
2000	#728
2001	#732
2002	#722
2003	#680
2004	#883
2005	#668
2006	#739
2007	#1160
2008	#899
2009	#932
2010	#965
2011	#1438
2012	#1297
2013	#2062
2014	#1702
2015	#2328
2016	#2367
2017	#2925
2018	#4684
2019	#4001
2020	#3899
2023	#5687
2024	#5891

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 · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in England and Wales in 27 of the 29 years from 1996 to 2024.

In 2017: #432 among girls in Northern Ireland, #651 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #2925 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1995–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1995
First recorded at #451 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1995 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded2000–2017
Highest recorded position: #268 among girls in Northern Ireland, in 2012 (recorded 2000–2017).
Northern Ireland · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #5891 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Leigha appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Girls, with 27 ranked years and 619 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Girls, from 1995.

Leigha 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.

Leigha'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 · Girls	#823 (1996)	#668 (2005)	#5891 (2024)	27 of 29	619 (1996–2024)	46 (2005)
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#451 (1995)	#315 (2001)	#586 (2021)	20 of 27	106 (1995–2021)	9 (2001)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#348 (2000)	#268 (2012)	#432 (2017)	11 of 18	43 (2000–2017)	7 (2012)

Leigha by decade in England and Wales · 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 Leigha in England and Wales · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	101	4 of 10	25
2000sbusiest	357	10 of 10	36
2010s	150	10 of 10	15
2020s	11	3 of 10	4

Across England and Wales · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 36 births a year.

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

Leigha 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 1995 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #268 in Northern Ireland in 2012.

Leigha'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	#5891	3	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#5687	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#3899	5	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#4001	5	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#2925	8	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#2367	11	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#2328	11	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#1702	17	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#2062	13	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#1297	25	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#1438	21	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#965	35	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#932	35	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#899	36	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#1160	24	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#739	42	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#668	46	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#883	30	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#680	42	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#722	36	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#732	34	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#728	32	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#721	32	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#925	23	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1045	19	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#823	27	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	female	#432	3	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	female	#358	4	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	female	#370	4	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	female	#268	7	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#363	4	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	female	#430	3	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	female	#419	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#413	3	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	female	#294	5	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	female	#284	4	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#348	3	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#586	6	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#651	5	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#896	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#540	7	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#768	4	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#798	4	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#510	8	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#539	7	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#862	3	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#624	5	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#550	5	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#461	6	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#511	5	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#490	5	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#374	7	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#315	9	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#413	5	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#439	4	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#496	4	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#451	4	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 1995 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #268, first reached in 2012.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 46 births, registered in England and Wales in 2005.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 5 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.

Leif · #17, 81y
Leigh · #92, 55y
Leighla · #834, 10y
Leighton · #150, 36y

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.

Ellie-Rose · #268, 29y
Fatimah · #267, 29y
Lori · #269, 33y
Meg · #269, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Corran · #268, 19y
Ellie-Rose · #268, 29y
Finnley · #268, 28y
Miah · #268, 30y

Leigha was ranked #268 in Northern Ireland · Girls in 2012. 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.

Leigha 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 Leigha without appearing here.

Leigha moved ahead of

Carol Compare
In 2018 they stood at #4684 and #4684 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #4001 and #5591.
Cassandra Compare
In 2009 they stood at #862 and #665 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2010 that had become #510 and #910.
Janet Compare
In 2009 they stood at #490 and #439 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2010 that had become #510 and #910.
Denise Compare
In 2012 they stood at #768 and #612 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2013 that had become #540 and #894.

Moved ahead of Leigha

Janice Compare
In 2022 they stood at #3899 and #4535 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #5687 and #1959.
Meabh Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2925 and #4063 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #4684 and #1711.
Maren Compare
In 2022 they stood at #3899 and #5493 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #5687 and #2927.
Arlo Compare
In 2017 they stood at #2925 and #3583 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #4684 and #2340.

Moved the opposite way to Leigha

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Leigha

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Leigha went from #823 to #5891 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

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 1995 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #268 in Northern Ireland in 2012. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Leigha

Leigha at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Leigha across 3 official records

Leigha by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Leigha 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 Leigha

Leigha and the names beside it

Leigha moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Leigha

Moved the opposite way to Leigha

Moved the same way as Leigha

Leigha at a glance

Leigha across 3 official records

Leigha by decade in England and Wales · Girls

Leigha 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 Leigha

Leigha and the names beside it

Leigha moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Leigha

Moved the opposite way to Leigha

Moved the same way as Leigha