Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Dale?
Births per year, rank history and how many Dales are alive today.
Dale (male), once a common boys' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 7 in 2025, ranked 2952nd. The name peaked in 1994, when around 1,200 babies were given the name, the 63rd most popular that year. It has declined since 1994; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. At least 13,000 babies have been named Dale in England and Wales since 1984. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Dale you are most likely to meet is around 33 years old. Half of all Dales born in England and Wales are between 34 and 44, and there are at least 19,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 6.1% chance that at least one of them will be called Dale.
How many babies are named Dale each year?
Where does Dale 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 Dale most popular?
Dale peaked in 1994, when around 1,200 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Dale?
At least 19,000 people named Dale born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Dale?
Most living Dales are between 34 and 44; the most common age is about 33.
Is Dale becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1994 peak.