Ralph

maleStatistical record

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

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

Ralph: Recorded since 1953, with a gap of 10 years, it reached #81 in 2019, and it stood at #372 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
92times a registrar ranked it
73years from first to last
#81highest recorded position
18groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Ralph's record

Moved 278 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move
Absent from every published list for 10 years inside its own recorded period, then ranked again. Names by longest absence

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#427
1997	#427
1998	#437
1999	#426
2000	#491
2001	#414
2002	#493
2003	#394
2004	#391
2005	#328
2006	#326
2007	#312
2008	#306
2009	#294
2010	#258
2011	#230
2012	#193
2013	#158
2014	#134
2015	#122
2016	#112
2017	#98
2018	#88
2019	#81
2020	#95
2021	#85
2022	#86
2023	#98
2024	#94

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 · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 47 of the 62 years from 1964 to 2025.

In 2024: #94 among boys in England and Wales, #239 among boys in Northern Ireland, #246 among boys in Scotland, #374 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1953–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #214 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #81 among boys in England and Wales, in 2019 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #372 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ralph appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 47 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 294 births with the name.

Ralph 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.

Ralph'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 · Boys	#214 (1964)	#171 (1966)	#372 (2025)	47 of 62	294 (1964–2025)	13 (2019)
England and Wales · Boys	#427 (1996)	#81 (2019)	#94 (2024)	29 of 29	8,892 (1996–2024)	748 (2019)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#341 (2006)	#193 (2020)	#239 (2024)	14 of 19	81 (2006–2024)	10 (2020)

Ralph by decade in Republic of Ireland · 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 Ralph in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	39	6 of 10	7
1970s	69	10 of 10	7
1980s	19	4 of 10	5
1990s	12	3 of 10	4
2000s	37	8 of 10	5
2010s	66	10 of 10	7
2020sbusiest	52	6 of 10	9

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 9 births a year.

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

Ralph 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 5 regions, from 1953 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #81 in England and Wales in 2019.

Ralph'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	#94	572	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#98	555	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#86	667	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#85	692	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#95	615	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#81	748	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#88	719	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#98	669	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#112	587	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#122	529	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#134	430	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#158	359	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#193	287	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#230	212	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#258	181	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#294	144	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#306	132	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#312	121	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#326	107	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#328	97	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#391	72	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#394	67	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#493	44	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#414	53	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#491	40	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#426	51	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#437	48	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#427	47	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#427	47	High	Verified
1953	New South Wales, Australia	male	#100	51	Insufficient	Not yet available
2024	Northern Ireland	male	#239	8	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#232	8	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	male	#311	5	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	male	#226	9	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#193	10	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#255	7	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	male	#318	5	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	male	#421	3	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#342	4	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#346	4	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#247	7	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	male	#375	3	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	male	#303	5	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	male	#341	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#372	10	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#374	10	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#472	7	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#407	9	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#336	12	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#637	4	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#322	13	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#572	5	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#418	8	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#491	6	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#554	5	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#468	7	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#534	5	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#457	7	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#540	5	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#542	5	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#701	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#529	5	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#629	3	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#423	5	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#403	5	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#439	4	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#305	7	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#312	5	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#330	4	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#280	5	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#323	3	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#224	7	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#330	3	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#322	3	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#252	6	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#269	5	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#255	5	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#273	5	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#316	3	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#225	8	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#251	6	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#209	10	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#230	7	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#204	9	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#185	11	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#230	6	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#187	8	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#196	7	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#171	9	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#207	5	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#214	4	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#246	16	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New South Wales, Australia hub — collected by NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
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 5 registrars between 1953 and 2025, ranked in 52 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #81, first reached in 2019.

It held a top-100 place in 9 years, 8 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 748 births, registered in England and Wales in 2019.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 10 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1964, and 71 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.

Ralfie · #1828, 19y
Ralfs · #601, 14y
Ralphie · #226, 23y
Ralphy · #495, 20y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 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.

Yasmin · #81, 55y
Duncan · #79, 49y
Alistair · #87, 51y
Felicity · #88, 51y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Elvira · #81, 50y
Yasmin · #81, 55y
Beatrice · #80, 61y
Gayle · #80, 22y

Ralph was ranked #81 in England and Wales · Boys in 2019. 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.

Ralph 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 Ralph without appearing here.

Ralph moved ahead of

Emil Compare
In 2020 they stood at #637 and #459 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2021 that had become #336 and #755.
Roger Compare
In 2020 they stood at #637 and #556 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2021 that had become #336 and #631.
Bruce Compare
In 2023 they stood at #472 and #472 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2024 that had become #374 and #655.
Kenneth Compare
In 2002 they stood at #493 and #411 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #394 and #633.

Moved ahead of Ralph

Mason Compare
In 2006 they stood at #423 and #493 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2007 that had become #629 and #241.
Brodie Compare
In 2019 they stood at #322 and #402 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2020 that had become #637 and #342.
Jesse Compare
In 2012 they stood at #457 and #500 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2013 that had become #534 and #271.
Finley Compare
In 1997 they stood at #427 and #484 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #437 and #182.

Moved the opposite way to Ralph

Arthur Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 while Arthur went from #98 to #57.
Isaac Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 while Isaac went from #232 to #104.
Leo Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 while Leo went from #101 to #10.
Oliver Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 while Oliver went from #68 to #18.

Moved the same way as Ralph

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 and Adrian from #65 to #348.
Alan Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 and Alan from #29 to #232.
Andrew Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 and Andrew from #34 to #106.
Anthony Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Ralph went from #214 to #372 and Anthony from #12 to #135.

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 5 regions, from 1953 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #81 in England and Wales in 2019. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Ralph

Ralph at a glance

What stands out in Ralph's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Ralph across 3 official records

Ralph by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ralph appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Ralph

Ralph and the names beside it

Ralph moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ralph

Moved the opposite way to Ralph

Moved the same way as Ralph

Ralph at a glance

What stands out in Ralph's record

Ralph across 3 official records

Ralph by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Ralph appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Ralph

Ralph and the names beside it

Ralph moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Ralph

Moved the opposite way to Ralph

Moved the same way as Ralph