UK name, mostly boys
Blair
Anglicized form of a Scottish surname meaning "plain, field, battlefield".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Also recorded as a girls' name in the UK, with 335 girls.
Blair is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Blair popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1758, with 14 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1997, with 24 births.
This profile covers 235 England and Wales registrations across 28 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 58% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 4,305 living people in the UK are called Blair. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Blair ranked #1758 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 14 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1997, when 24 boys were registered as Blair.
- • Blair ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #59 in 2024.
- • Blair is also recorded for girls, but the boys side is the larger UK variant in these records.
- • About 4,305 living people in the UK are estimated to have Blair as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 58.8% of Blair registrations are for girls.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1758
2024
Births in 2024
14
Latest year
Peak year
1997
24 births
Estimated living
4,305
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Blair
In England and Wales birth records, Blair has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 41.2% of registrations are for boys and 58.8% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Blair registered for boys
- Ranked #1,758 in 2024
- 14 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (24 births)
Blair registered for girls
- Ranked #603 in 2024
- 65 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (65 births)
Meaning
What does Blair mean?
The name Blair is of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Gaelic word "blar" meaning "field" or "plain." It is believed to have originated as a surname referring to someone who lived near a field or plain.
The earliest recorded use of the name Blair dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared as a surname in Scotland. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was William de Blair, who was mentioned in a charter from the reign of King William the Lion of Scotland (1165-1214).
In the Middle Ages, Blair was a common surname in Scotland, particularly in the counties of Ayr and Renfrew. It was also used as a place name, such as Blair Atholl and Blair Castle, which were associated with the influential Murray family.
The name Blair gained wider recognition during the Scottish Renaissance, when notable figures like Robert Blair (1593-1666), a Scottish Presbyterian minister and writer, and John Blair (1720-1800), a Scottish-American farmer and judge, rose to prominence.
As the name gained popularity, it began to be used as a given name as well. One of the earliest recorded instances of Blair as a first name was in the 18th century, when Blair Smith (1770-1857), an American politician and lawyer, was born.
Other notable individuals named Blair throughout history include:
1. Blair Underwood (born 1964), an American actor known for his roles in films and television shows like "L.A. Law" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."
2. Blair Brown (born 1946), an American actress best known for her roles in films like "The Accidental Tourist" and "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd."
3. Blair Rasmussen (born 1973), an Australian Olympic swimmer who won a gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
4. Blair Holcomb (born 1991), an American professional ice hockey player.
5. Blair Thornburgh (born 1983), an American author known for her young adult fiction novels.
While the name Blair has its roots in Scotland, it has gained worldwide recognition and is now used as a given name in various cultures and countries.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Blair over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Blair in England and Wales, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Blair, the clearest high point is 1997. The latest England and Wales figure is 14 births in 2024, compared with 24 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Blair by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Blair was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #2283 | 48 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2475 | 83 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2771 | 48 | 9 |
| 1990s | #1124 | 56 | 4 |
Geography
Where Blair is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Blair. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Blair ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #59 in 2024.
Across the UK
Blair in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#59 in 2024
51 years of NRS records, 4,099 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#395 in 2023
8 years of NISRA records, 25 total registered
Related
Names similar to Blair
- Benjamin 90,412
- Ben 36,356
- Bradley 30,230
- Brandon 26,411
- Billy 18,608
- Bobby 16,904
- Blake 16,337
- Bailey 16,014
- Brody 7,230
- Beau 6,722
- Barnaby 5,284
- Brodie 4,801
FAQ
Blair: questions and answers
How popular is the name Blair in the UK right now?
In 2024, Blair was ranked #1758 for boys in England and Wales, with 14 births registered.
When was Blair most popular?
The peak year on record was 1997, with 24 babies registered as Blair in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Blair?
Anglicized form of a Scottish surname meaning "plain, field, battlefield".
How many people are called Blair in the UK?
A total of 235 babies have been registered as Blair across the 28 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 4,099 more in Scotland and 25 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Blair most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Blair ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #59 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.