UK girl's name
Princess
A feminine proper name from Old French meaning "principal lady".
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.
Princess is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Princess popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #869, with 42 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2010, with 144 births.
This profile covers 1,590 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, 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 29% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 1,616 living people in the UK are called Princess. 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
- • Princess ranked #869 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 42 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2010, when 144 girls were registered as Princess.
- • Princess ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
- • About 1,616 living people in the UK are estimated to have Princess as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#869
2024
Births in 2024
42
Latest year
Peak year
2010
144 births
Estimated living
1,616
2026
Meaning
What does Princess mean?
The name Princess has its origins in the English language, derived from the Old French word "princesse," which itself comes from the Latin word "princeps," meaning "first" or "chief." The name Princess is a title that denotes the daughter of a monarch or a member of a royal family.
The use of the name Princess as a given name dates back to the 17th century, when it became popular among the nobility and upper classes in Europe. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Princess is Princess Anne of Great Britain, born in 1665, the second daughter of King James II and his first wife, Anne Hyde.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Princess. One of the most famous was Princess Diana, born Diana Frances Spencer in 1961, who married Prince Charles of Wales in 1981. She was widely admired for her humanitarian work and her efforts to modernize the British monarchy. Tragically, she died in a car accident in Paris in 1997.
Another well-known Princess was Princess Grace of Monaco, born Grace Patricia Kelly in 1929. She was an American actress who starred in several acclaimed films, including "Rear Window" and "To Catch a Thief," before marrying Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956 and becoming a real-life princess.
In ancient times, the name Princess was associated with royalty and power. One of the earliest recorded examples of a princess is Princess Hatshepsut, who ruled as a pharaoh of Egypt from around 1479 to 1458 BCE. She was one of the most successful and influential rulers of ancient Egypt, overseeing a period of prosperity and peace.
Princess Leia, the fictional character from the Star Wars films, played by Carrie Fisher, has also contributed to the popularity of the name Princess. Introduced in the 1977 film "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope," Princess Leia was a leader in the Rebel Alliance and an iconic figure in popular culture.
Other notable individuals named Princess throughout history include Princess Merida from the Disney/Pixar film "Brave" (2012), Princess Jasmine from the Disney animated film "Aladdin" (1992), and Princess Buttercup from the cult classic film "The Princess Bride" (1987).
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Princess over time
The chart below shows babies named Princess 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 Princess, the clearest high point is 2010. The latest England and Wales figure is 42 births in 2024, compared with 144 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Princess by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Princess 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 | #890 | 203 | 5 |
| 2010s | #592 | 792 | 10 |
| 2000s | #687 | 524 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1145 | 71 | 4 |
Geography
Where Princess is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Princess. 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.
Princess ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #790 in 2024.
Across the UK
Princess in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#790 in 2024
10 years of NRS records, 34 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Princess
-
Princess Ademiluyi
association football player
English footballer
2006-
-
Princess Bright
politician
Mayor of Barking and Dagenham
1995-
Related
Names similar to Princess
- Poppy 52,802
- Phoebe 47,609
- Paige 24,717
- Penelope 13,109
- Pippa 6,346
- Polly 5,678
- Philippa 4,446
- Penny 4,394
- Paris 4,372
- Piper 3,961
- Pearl 3,516
- Paisley 3,419
FAQ
Princess: questions and answers
How popular is the name Princess in the UK right now?
In 2024, Princess was ranked #869 for girls in England and Wales, with 42 births registered.
When was Princess most popular?
The peak year on record was 2010, with 144 babies registered as Princess in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Princess?
A feminine proper name from Old French meaning "principal lady".
How many people are called Princess in the UK?
A total of 1,590 babies have been registered as Princess across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 34 more in Scotland.
Where is Princess most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Princess ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #790 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.