Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Mary?
Births per year, rank history and how many Maries are alive today.
Mary (female), once a common girls' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 329th in 2025 with 131 given the name. The name peaked in 1904, when it was the most popular girls' name outright, given to around 32,400 babies. It has declined since 1904; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. Numbers have been stable in recent years. At least 1,000,000 babies have been named Mary in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Common short forms of Mary include Molly, May and Polly.
The Mary you are most likely to meet is around 81 years old. Half of all Maries born in England and Wales are between 71 and 87, and there are at least 250,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly a 55% chance that at least one of them will be called Mary.
How many babies are named Mary each year?
Where does Mary 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 Mary most popular?
Mary peaked in 1904, when around 32,400 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Mary?
At least 250,000 people named Mary born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Mary?
Most living Maries are between 71 and 87; the most common age is about 81.
Is Mary becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1904 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.