Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Heather?
Births per year, rank history and how many Heathers are alive today.
Heather (female), once a common girls' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 792nd in 2025 with 46 given the name. The name peaked in 1964, when around 790 babies were given the name, the 59th most popular that year. It was almost as popular in 1996, with 713 babies given the name that year. It has declined since 1964; the 2025 figure is roughly 6% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 42,000 babies have been named Heather in England and Wales since 1934. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Heather you are most likely to meet is around 63 years old - or else around 31: the name has two living generations. Half of all Heathers born in England and Wales are between 37 and 71, and there are at least 38,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly an 11% chance that at least one of them will be called Heather.
How many babies are named Heather each year?
Where does Heather rank among girls' names?
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
When was the name Heather most popular?
Heather peaked in 1964, when around 790 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Heather?
At least 38,000 people named Heather born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Heather?
Most living Heathers are between 37 and 71; the most common age is about 63. There is a second cluster around 31.
Is Heather becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1964 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.