UK girl's name
Cariad
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.
Cariad is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Cariad popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1894, with 15 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2016, with 23 births.
This profile covers 321 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, 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 65% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 319 living people in the UK are called Cariad. 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
- • Cariad ranked #1894 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 15 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2016, when 23 girls were registered as Cariad.
- • About 319 living people in the UK are estimated to have Cariad as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1894
2024
Births in 2024
15
Latest year
Peak year
2016
23 births
Estimated living
319
2026
Popularity
Cariad over time
The chart below shows babies named Cariad registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, 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 Cariad, the clearest high point is 2016. The latest England and Wales figure is 15 births in 2024, compared with 23 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cariad by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Cariad 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 | #2297 | 64 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2317 | 126 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2032 | 104 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2309 | 27 | 4 |
Related
Names similar to Cariad
- Chloe 111,265
- Charlotte 88,733
- Caitlin 28,931
- Courtney 23,162
- Chelsea 13,049
- Clara 9,435
- Connie 8,402
- Catherine 8,376
- Charlie 7,964
- Cerys 7,506
- Casey 7,018
- Cara 6,375
FAQ
Cariad: questions and answers
How popular is the name Cariad in the UK right now?
In 2024, Cariad was ranked #1894 for girls in England and Wales, with 15 births registered.
When was Cariad most popular?
The peak year on record was 2016, with 23 babies registered as Cariad in England and Wales.
How many people are called Cariad in the UK?
A total of 321 babies have been registered as Cariad across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
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.