Wil

maleStatistical record

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

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

Wil: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #973 in 1999, and it stood at #3,688 in 2024.

1registrar recorded it
29times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#973highest recorded position
8groupings 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	#2863
1997	#1113
1998	#1000
1999	#973
2000	#1167
2001	#983
2002	#1411
2003	#1513
2004	#1498
2005	#1851
2006	#1469
2007	#1125
2008	#1343
2009	#1358
2010	#1344
2011	#1688
2012	#1852
2013	#1539
2014	#2459
2015	#1902
2016	#4023
2017	#1627
2018	#2693
2019	#3013
2020	#4608
2021	#3017
2022	#4789
2023	#3523
2024	#3688

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 #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: #973 among boys in England and Wales, in 1999 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3688 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Wil 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 Wil 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	136	10 of 10	14
2010s	110	10 of 10	11
2020s	22	5 of 10	4

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 14 births a year.

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

Wil 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: #973 in England and Wales in 1999.

Wil'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	#3688	5	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#3523	5	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#3017	6	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#4608	3	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#3013	6	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#2693	7	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1627	15	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4023	4	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#1902	12	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2459	8	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#1539	15	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#1852	12	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1688	13	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1344	18	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1358	17	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1343	17	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1125	21	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1469	13	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1851	9	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1498	11	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1513	10	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1411	10	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#983	16	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1167	12	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#973	15	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1000	14	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1113	12	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 #973, first reached in 1999.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 21 births, registered in England and Wales in 2007.

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 →
#3,688position in 2024, its most recent recorded year
21births registered in its largest year, 2007Under 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.

Wiktor · #143, 36y
Wiktoria · #109, 32y
Wilbur · #429, 22y
Wilder · #577, 11y

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.

Acacia · #973, 29y
Adeeb · #973, 28y
Tayyib · #973, 27y
Umayr · #973, 27y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Acacia · #973, 29y
Adeeb · #973, 28y
Tayyib · #973, 27y
Umayr · #973, 27y

Wil was ranked #973 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.

Wil 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 Wil without appearing here.

Wil moved ahead of

Joakim Compare
In 2000 they stood at #2863 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #983 and #3134.
Herman Compare
In 1997 they stood at #2863 and #2357 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #1000 and #2901.
Garry Compare
In 2022 they stood at #4789 and #3048 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #3523 and #4991.
Glenn Compare
In 2022 they stood at #3017 and #2730 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #3523 and #4991.

Moved ahead of Wil

Isak Compare
In 2021 they stood at #3017 and #3451 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #4789 and #3449.
Aksel Compare
In 2017 they stood at #1627 and #1812 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2018 that had become #2693 and #1382.
Gustav Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3013 and #3937 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #4608 and #3334.
Rune Compare
In 2018 they stood at #2693 and #4749 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #3013 and #2104.

Moved the opposite way to Wil

Cooper Compare
Between 1997 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #1113 to #3688 while Cooper went from #2022 to #139.
Arlo Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #973 to #3688 while Arlo went from #2943 to #15.
Harper Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #973 to #3688 while Harper went from #2425 to #1402.
Kasper Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #973 to #3688 while Kasper went from #2425 to #529.

Moved the same way as Wil

Brent Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #2863 to #4789 and Brent from #898 to #3449.
Kelly Compare
Between 1997 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #1113 to #3523 and Kelly from #1454 to #3523.
Tor Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #2863 to #4789 and Tor from #2020 to #3449.
Brooke Compare
Between 1996 and 2020 in England and Wales · Boys, Wil went from #2863 to #4608 and Brooke from #2357 to #4608.

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

Wil

Wil at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Wil by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Wil 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 Wil

Wil and the names beside it

Wil moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Wil

Moved the opposite way to Wil

Moved the same way as Wil

Wil at a glance

Wil by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Wil 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 Wil

Wil and the names beside it

Wil moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Wil

Moved the opposite way to Wil

Moved the same way as Wil