Reef

maleStatistical record

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

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

Reef: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #750 in 1999, and it stood at #2,263 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
29times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#750highest recorded position
8groupings it qualifies for

England and Wales · Boys

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2863
1997	#1345
1998	#1263
1999	#750
2000	#1048
2001	#983
2002	#1322
2003	#1410
2004	#970
2005	#1246
2006	#1280
2007	#1079
2008	#1457
2009	#1859
2010	#1483
2011	#2039
2012	#2721
2013	#1796
2014	#1486
2015	#2020
2016	#1903
2017	#1812
2018	#1533
2019	#1506
2020	#2682
2021	#1688
2022	#2320
2023	#1906
2024	#2263

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 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 #2863 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: #750 among boys in England and Wales, in 1999 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2263 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Reef 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 Reef 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
2000sbusiest	153	10 of 10	15
2010s	129	10 of 10	13
2020s	52	5 of 10	10

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 15 births a year.

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

Reef 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: #750 in England and Wales in 1999.

Reef'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	#2263	10	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1906	12	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#2320	9	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1688	14	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#2682	7	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1506	16	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1533	16	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1812	13	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#1903	12	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2020	11	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#1486	16	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#1796	12	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2721	7	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#2039	10	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1483	16	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1859	11	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1457	15	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1079	22	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1280	16	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1246	16	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#970	21	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1410	11	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1322	11	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#983	16	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1048	14	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#750	22	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1263	10	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1345	9	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#2863	3	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 #750, first reached in 1999.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 22 births, registered in England and Wales in 1999.

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 →
#2,263position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
22births registered in its largest year, 1999Under 25 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.

Reece · #38, 37y
Reed · #710, 28y
Reegan · #559, 29y
Reem · #478, 30y

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.

Manahil · #750, 25y
Adnaan · #751, 27y
Alissia · #749, 28y
Kaleem · #751, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Elisabeta · #750, 17y
Manahil · #750, 25y
Abdul-Raheem · #749, 25y
Adnaan · #751, 27y

Reef was ranked #750 in England and Wales · Boys in 1999. 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.

Reef 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 Reef without appearing here.

Reef moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1906 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2263 and #5119.
Geoffrey Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2320 and #1879 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1906 and #4107.
Joakim Compare
In 2000 they stood at #2863 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #983 and #3134.
Malin Compare
In 2000 they stood at #2863 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #983 and #3134.

Moved ahead of Reef

Rune Compare
In 2021 they stood at #1688 and #2125 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #2320 and #1609.
Braxton Compare
In 2010 they stood at #1483 and #4678 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2011 that had become #2039 and #1398.
Arlo Compare
In 2001 they stood at #983 and #1949 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #1322 and #848.
Isak Compare
In 2022 they stood at #2320 and #3449 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1906 and #1461.

Moved the opposite way to Reef

Cooper Compare
Between 1997 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #1345 to #2263 while Cooper went from #2022 to #139.
Arlo Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #750 to #2263 while Arlo went from #2943 to #15.
Harper Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #750 to #2263 while Harper went from #2425 to #1402.
Kasper Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #750 to #2263 while Kasper went from #2425 to #529.

Moved the same way as Reef

Kelly Compare
Between 1997 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #1345 to #1906 and Kelly from #1454 to #3523.
Ole Compare
Between 1998 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #1263 to #2320 and Ole from #2901 to #4789.
Espen Compare
Between 2002 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #1322 to #2263 and Espen from #3225 to #5119.
Morten Compare
Between 1997 and 2015 in England and Wales · Boys, Reef went from #1345 to #2020 and Morten from #2859 to #4747.

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: #750 in England and Wales in 1999. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Reef

Reef at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Reef by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Reef 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 Reef

Reef and the names beside it

Reef moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Reef

Moved the opposite way to Reef

Moved the same way as Reef

Reef at a glance

Reef by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Reef 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 Reef

Reef and the names beside it

Reef moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Reef

Moved the opposite way to Reef

Moved the same way as Reef