Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Paddy?
Births per year, rank history and how many Paddies are alive today.
Paddy (male) is a shortened form of the name Patrick. Although Paddy itself was given to 49 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 716th as a registered name), most Paddies are registered as Patrick, which ranked 134th in 2025 with 375 babies.
Most people called Paddy are registered as Patrick, and share that name's profile: the Patrick you are most likely to meet is around 62 years old. Half of all Patricks born in England and Wales are between 39 and 71, and there are at least 110,000 of them alive today. Only some Patricks go by Paddy.
How many babies are named Paddy or Patrick each year?
Combined registrations of Patrick, Patryk, Paddy. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Patrick rank as a registered name?
Where does Paddy rank as a registered name?
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
Is Paddy short for Patrick?
Yes - Paddy is a shortened form of Patrick. Paddies are usually registered as Patrick at birth.
When was the name Paddy most popular?
The full name Patrick peaked in 1964, when around 3,600 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Paddy itself peaked as a registered name in 2023, with 50 babies.
How many people are called Paddy?
There's no official count of people who go by Paddy, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 110,000 people registered as Patrick born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Paddy.
How old is the typical Paddy?
Most people called Paddy are registered as Patrick. Most living Patricks are between 39 and 71; the most common age is about 62.
Is Paddy becoming more or less popular?
Well past its peak: today's figures are a fraction of the 1964 peak, though numbers have levelled off in recent years.