Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Howard?
Births per year, rank history and how many Howards are alive today.
Howard (male), once a common boys' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 13 in 2025, ranked 1897th. The name peaked in 1954, when around 780 babies were given the name, the 68th most popular that year. Howard fell out of the published rankings after 1924 and returned in 1944, a classic revival pattern. At least 52,000 babies have been named Howard in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Howard you are most likely to meet is around 63 years old. Half of all Howards born in England and Wales are between 53 and 76, and there are at least 28,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly an 8.8% chance that at least one of them will be called Howard.
How many babies are named Howard each year?
Where does Howard 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 Howard most popular?
Howard peaked in 1954, when around 780 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Howard?
At least 28,000 people named Howard born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Howard?
Most living Howards are between 53 and 76; the most common age is about 63.
Is Howard becoming more or less popular?
Rising: numbers have been climbing in recent years.