Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Desmond?
Births per year, rank history and how many Desmonds are alive today.
Desmond (male), once a common boys' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 21 in 2025, ranked 1307th. The name peaked in 1924, when around 1,000 babies were given the name, the 65th most popular that year. It has declined since 1924; the 2025 figure is roughly 2% of its peak. At least 19,000 babies have been named Desmond in England and Wales since 1924. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Desmond you are most likely to meet is around 74 years old. Half of all Desmonds born in England and Wales are between 56 and 81, and there are at least 9,700 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 3.2% chance that at least one of them will be called Desmond.
How many babies are named Desmond each year?
Where does Desmond 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 Desmond most popular?
Desmond peaked in 1924, when around 1,000 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Desmond?
At least 9,700 people named Desmond born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Desmond?
Most living Desmonds are between 56 and 81; the most common age is about 74.
Is Desmond becoming more or less popular?
Rising: numbers have been climbing in recent years.