Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Basil?
Births per year, rank history and how many Basils are alive today.
Basil (male), once a common boys' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 26 in 2025, ranked 1124th. The name peaked in 1924, when around 690 babies were given the name, the 80th most popular that year. It has declined since 1924; the 2025 figure is roughly 4% of its peak. At least 32,000 babies have been named Basil in England and Wales since 1914. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Basil you are most likely to meet is around 75 years old. Half of all Basils born in England and Wales are between 56 and 80, and there are at least 14,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 4.5% chance that at least one of them will be called Basil.
How many babies are named Basil each year?
Where does Basil rank among boys' 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 Basil most popular?
Basil peaked in 1924, when around 690 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Basil?
At least 14,000 people named Basil born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Basil?
Most living Basils are between 56 and 80; the most common age is about 75.
Is Basil becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1924 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.