Pearl

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Pearl: Recorded since 1964, it reached #204 in 2021, and it stood at #273 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
85times a registrar ranked it
62years from first to last
#204highest recorded position
15groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#823
1997	#946
1998	#817
1999	#864
2000	#876
2001	#853
2002	#702
2003	#637
2004	#758
2005	#524
2006	#512
2007	#506
2008	#440
2009	#379
2010	#416
2011	#376
2012	#322
2013	#272
2014	#235
2015	#240
2016	#243
2017	#221
2018	#246
2019	#218
2020	#271
2021	#238
2022	#248
2023	#232
2024	#238

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 50 of the 62 years from 1964 to 2025.

In 2024: #238 among girls in England and Wales, #253 among girls in Northern Ireland, #351 among girls in Scotland, #372 among girls in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1964–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #372 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 recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #204 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2021 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #273 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Pearl appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 50 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 451 births with the name.

Pearl 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.

Pearl'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	#372 (1964)	#204 (2021)	#273 (2025)	50 of 62	451 (1964–2025)	23 (2019)
England and Wales · Girls	#823 (1996)	#218 (2019)	#238 (2024)	29 of 29	3,516 (1996–2024)	234 (2017)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#440 (2016)	#253 (2024)	#253 (2024)	5 of 9	19 (2016–2024)	6 (2024)

Pearl 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 Pearl in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	17	4 of 10	4
1970s	49	8 of 10	6
1980s	50	8 of 10	6
1990s	21	5 of 10	4
2000s	49	9 of 10	5
2010s	161	10 of 10	16
2020sbusiest	104	6 of 10	17

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 17 births a year.

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

Pearl 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 4 regions, from 1964 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #204 in Republic of Ireland in 2021.

Pearl'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	#238	203	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#232	199	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#248	192	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#238	210	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#271	177	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#218	225	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#246	206	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#221	234	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#243	210	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#240	207	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#235	209	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#272	173	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#322	151	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#376	124	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#416	105	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#379	111	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#440	96	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#506	75	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#512	72	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#524	65	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#758	37	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#637	45	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#702	37	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#853	27	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#876	25	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#864	25	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#817	27	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#946	22	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#823	27	High	Verified
2024	Northern Ireland	female	#253	6	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	female	#350	4	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	female	#424	3	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	female	#432	3	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	female	#440	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#273	15	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#372	10	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#247	16	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#237	18	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#204	23	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#207	22	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#215	23	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#228	21	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#228	22	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#288	16	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#264	19	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#321	15	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#357	13	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#317	16	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#550	7	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#475	9	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#488	8	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#665	5	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#468	8	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#502	6	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#398	8	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#677	3	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#559	4	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#512	4	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#536	3	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#528	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	3	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#411	5	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#385	6	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#457	4	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#353	7	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#417	5	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#422	5	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#386	6	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#365	7	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#369	7	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#423	5	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#352	8	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#369	7	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#298	10	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#308	9	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#490	3	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#374	6	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#326	7	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#396	4	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#351	5	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#315	5	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#344	4	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#372	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#351	9	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
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1964 and 2025, ranked in 53 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #204, first reached in 2021.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 234 births, registered in England and Wales in 2017.

Its record falls into 10 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 60 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.

Peadar · #142, 61y
Pearce · #190, 24y
Pearse · #85, 60y
Pebbles · #2410, 19y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 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.

Dana · #210, 51y
Bilal · #197, 50y
Farah · #195, 51y
Izabela · #194, 58y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

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

Humphrey · #204, 43y
Macdara · #204, 32y
Sharan · #204, 16y
Terri · #204, 45y

Pearl was ranked #204 in Republic of Ireland · Girls in 2021. 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.

Pearl 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 Pearl without appearing here.

Pearl moved ahead of

Carol Compare
In 1997 they stood at #946 and #897 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1998 that had become #817 and #1480.
Jude Compare
In 2011 they stood at #502 and #502 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2012 that had become #317 and #907.
Kristy Compare
In 2000 they stood at #876 and #876 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2001 that had become #853 and #1439.
Tracy Compare
In 1997 they stood at #946 and #820 in England and Wales · Girls; by 1998 that had become #817 and #1392.

Moved ahead of Pearl

Phoebe Compare
In 1996 they stood at #411 and #502 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1997 that had become #576 and #235.
Fiadh Compare
In 2007 they stood at #468 and #505 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2008 that had become #665 and #341.
Ellie Compare
In 1996 they stood at #411 and #450 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1997 that had become #576 and #263.
Saoirse Compare
In 1990 they stood at #353 and #377 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1991 that had become #457 and #147.

Moved the opposite way to Pearl

Deirdre Compare
Between 1964 and 2019 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Pearl went from #372 to #215 while Deirdre went from #14 to #871.
Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Pearl went from #823 to #238 while Abigail went from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Pearl went from #823 to #238 while Aimee went from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Pearl went from #823 to #238 while Aisling went from #440 to #2000.

Moved the same way as Pearl

Chloe Compare
Between 1974 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Pearl went from #490 to #273 and Chloe from #490 to #22.
Debra Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Pearl went from #372 to #677 and Debra from #274 to #677.
Gail Compare
Between 1964 and 2004 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Pearl went from #372 to #677 and Gail from #245 to #677.
Kayla Compare
Between 1991 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Pearl went from #457 to #273 and Kayla from #515 to #130.

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 4 regions, from 1964 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #204 in Republic of Ireland in 2021. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Pearl

Pearl at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Pearl across 3 official records

Pearl by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Pearl 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 Pearl

Pearl and the names beside it

Pearl moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Pearl

Moved the opposite way to Pearl

Moved the same way as Pearl

Pearl at a glance

Pearl across 3 official records

Pearl by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Pearl 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 Pearl

Pearl and the names beside it

Pearl moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Pearl

Moved the opposite way to Pearl

Moved the same way as Pearl