Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Bee?
Births per year, rank history and how many Bees are alive today.
Bee (female) is a shortened form of the name Phoebe. Although Bee itself was given to 8 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 3035th as a registered name), most Bees are registered as Phoebe, which ranked 14th in 2025 with 1,542 babies.
Most people called Bee are registered as Phoebe, and share that name's profile: the Phoebe you are most likely to meet is around 17 years old. Half of all Phoebes born in England and Wales are between 9 and 24, and there are at least 55,000 of them alive today. Only some Phoebes go by Bee.
How many babies are named Bee or Phoebe each year?
Combined registrations of Phoebe, Bee. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Phoebe rank as a registered name?
Where does Bee rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Bee short for Phoebe?
Yes - Bee is a shortened form of Phoebe. Bees are usually registered as Phoebe at birth.
When was the name Bee most popular?
The full name Phoebe peaked in 2008, when 2,116 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Bee itself peaked as a registered name in 2021, with 13 babies.
How many people are called Bee?
There's no official count of people who go by Bee, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 55,000 people registered as Phoebe born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Bee.
How old is the typical Bee?
Most people called Bee are registered as Phoebe. Most living Phoebes are between 9 and 24; the most common age is about 17.
Is Bee becoming more or less popular?
Broadly steady in recent years.