NameCensus.

UK boy's name

John-James

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.

John-James is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for John-James popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3254, with 6 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2011, with 27 births.

This profile covers 210 England and Wales registrations across 18 recorded years from 1998 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 22% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 272 living people in the UK are called John-James. 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

  • John-James ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 6 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2011, when 27 boys were registered as John-James.
  • John-James ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #395 in 2023.
  • About 272 living people in the UK are estimated to have John-James as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#3254

2024

Births in 2024

6

Latest year

Peak year

2011

27 births

Estimated living

272

2026

Popularity

John-James over time

The chart below shows babies named John-James registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1998 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 John-James, the clearest high point is 2011. The latest England and Wales figure is 6 births in 2024, compared with 27 at the peak.

Babies born per year

John-James
07142027199820112024

Decades

John-James by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether John-James 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 #2667 40 5
2010s #1670 157 10
2000s #2983 9 2
1990s #2419 4 1

Geography

Where John-James is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for John-James. 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.

John-James ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #395 in 2023.

Northern Ireland
3
Scotland
3

Across the UK

John-James in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#720 in 2021

10 years of NRS records, 43 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#395 in 2023

5 years of NISRA records, 21 total registered

Related

Names similar to John-James

FAQ

John-James: questions and answers

How popular is the name John-James in the UK right now?

In 2024, John-James was ranked #3254 for boys in England and Wales, with 6 births registered.

When was John-James most popular?

The peak year on record was 2011, with 27 babies registered as John-James in England and Wales.

How many people are called John-James in the UK?

A total of 210 babies have been registered as John-James across the 18 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 43 more in Scotland and 21 in Northern Ireland.

Where is John-James most common?

In the latest published local rankings, John-James ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #395 in 2023. 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.