Merlin

maleStatistical record

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

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

Merlin: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #786 in 2001, and it stood at #1,517 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
29times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#786highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

England and Wales · Boys

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1235
1997	#1010
1998	#1110
1999	#1505
2000	#1096
2001	#786
2002	#1190
2003	#1092
2004	#1160
2005	#1299
2006	#2087
2007	#2435
2008	#2507
2009	#2318
2010	#1911
2011	#2039
2012	#1756
2013	#3822
2014	#2459
2015	#2150
2016	#2335
2017	#1068
2018	#1455
2019	#1217
2020	#1314
2021	#1184
2022	#1084
2023	#1799
2024	#1517

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 every year from 1996 to 2024.

Official data for England and Wales, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #1235 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 recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #786 among boys in England and Wales, in 2001 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #1517 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Merlin 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 Merlin in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	44	4 of 10	11
2000s	125	10 of 10	13
2010s	130	10 of 10	13
2020sbusiest	98	5 of 10	20

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 20 births a year.

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

Merlin appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #786 in England and Wales in 2001.

Merlin'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	#1517	17	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1799	13	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1084	26	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1184	23	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1314	19	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1217	21	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1455	17	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1068	27	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2335	9	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2150	10	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2459	8	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#3822	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#1756	13	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#2039	10	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1911	11	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#2318	8	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#2507	7	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#2435	7	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#2087	8	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1299	15	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1160	16	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1092	16	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1190	13	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#786	22	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1096	13	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1505	8	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1110	12	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1010	14	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1235	10	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 1 registrar between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #786, first reached in 2001.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 27 births, registered in England and Wales in 2017.

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.

4decades with a ranked yearRecorded in 4 decades →
29 yearslongest unbroken run of ranked years20 to 29 unbroken years →
1unbroken stretch — never absent from the recordUnbroken since it first appeared →
#1,517position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
27births registered in its largest year, 201725 to 49 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.

Meriem · #910, 26y
Merissa · #534, 12y
Meron · #2859, 15y
Merrick · #1761, 17y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 1 registrar, 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.

Katya · #787, 27y
Sadiyah · #785, 24y
Malikah · #788, 27y
Vikram · #788, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Alp · #785, 20y
Ananya · #787, 28y
Dre · #785, 29y
Edoardo · #785, 27y

Merlin was ranked #786 in England and Wales · Boys in 2001. 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.

Merlin 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 Merlin without appearing here.

Merlin moved ahead of

Shannon Compare
In 2016 they stood at #3822 and #3822 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2017 that had become #1068 and #4812.
Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1799 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1517 and #5119.
Brent Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3822 and #3822 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2015 that had become #2150 and #4747.
Kim Compare
In 2014 they stood at #3822 and #3822 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2015 that had become #2150 and #4747.

Moved ahead of Merlin

Kasper Compare
In 2005 they stood at #1299 and #1617 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2006 that had become #2087 and #1168.
Theodor Compare
In 2009 they stood at #2318 and #2544 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2010 that had become #1911 and #1201.
Markus Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1084 and #1224 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1799 and #1108.
Harper Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1084 and #1609 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1799 and #1207.

Moved the opposite way to Merlin

Cooper Compare
Between 1997 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Merlin went from #1010 to #1517 while Cooper went from #2022 to #139.

Moved the same way as Merlin

Garry Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Merlin went from #1235 to #1799 and Garry from #573 to #4991.
Graeme Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Merlin went from #1235 to #1799 and Graeme from #755 to #4107.
Nicola Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Merlin went from #1235 to #1799 and Nicola from #2863 to #4107.
Kelly Compare
Between 1997 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Merlin went from #1010 to #1799 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.

Recorded in official data for England and Wales from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #786 in England and Wales in 2001. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Merlin

Merlin at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Merlin by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Merlin 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 Merlin

Merlin and the names beside it

Merlin moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Merlin

Moved the opposite way to Merlin

Moved the same way as Merlin

Merlin at a glance

Merlin by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Merlin 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 Merlin

Merlin and the names beside it

Merlin moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Merlin

Moved the opposite way to Merlin

Moved the same way as Merlin