UK name, mostly boys
Soul
The English word derived from French meaning the spiritual force within a person.
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.
Soul is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Soul popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #1859, with 13 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2009, with 13 births.
This profile covers 195 England and Wales registrations across 25 recorded years from 1998 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 100% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 200 living people in the UK are called Soul. 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
- • Soul ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 13 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2009, when 13 boys were registered as Soul.
- • Soul ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #482 in 2023.
- • About 200 living people in the UK are estimated to have Soul as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 92.4% of Soul registrations are for boys.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1859
2024
Births in 2024
13
Latest year
Peak year
2009
13 births
Estimated living
200
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Soul
In England and Wales birth records, Soul has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 92.4% of registrations are for boys and 7.6% 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.
Soul registered for boys
- Ranked #1,859 in 2024
- 13 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (13 births)
Soul registered for girls
- Ranked #4,192 in 2024
- 5 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (5 births)
Meaning
What does Soul mean?
The name Soul does not have a long or distinguished history as a given name. It is a relatively modern invention, likely arising in the 20th century as a neologism reflecting the spiritual concept of the "soul" as the essence or animating principle of a person. While the word "soul" has ancient roots in languages like Greek and Latin, it does not appear to have been used as a personal name until quite recently.
As a given name, Soul seems to be primarily an English language phenomenon, perhaps originating in the United States or other English-speaking countries. It is not derived from any particular language or cultural tradition, but rather is a direct borrowing of the common noun "soul" into use as a proper name.
There are no known references to the name Soul in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the modern era. The earliest recorded examples of the name are likely from the late 20th century, as it gained popularity as a unique and spiritually evocative name choice.
A few notable individuals named Soul include:
1. Soul Khan, a Pakistani-American filmmaker and artist born in 1976. 2. Soul Brown, an American former professional basketball player born in 1969. 3. Soul Nyx, an American drag queen and activist born in 1983. 4. Soul Rebels, an American brass band formed in New Orleans in the early 1990s. 5. Soul Sneed, an American former professional basketball player born in 1972.
While the name Soul is not common, it has gained some traction in recent decades as a distinctive and meaningful name choice for parents seeking a name with spiritual or philosophical connotations.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Soul over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Soul in England and Wales, 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 Soul, the clearest high point is 2009. The latest England and Wales figure is 13 births in 2024, compared with 13 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Soul by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Soul 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 | #2338 | 46 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2774 | 68 | 9 |
| 2000s | #2135 | 74 | 10 |
| 1990s | #1642 | 7 | 1 |
Geography
Where Soul is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Soul. 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.
Soul ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #482 in 2023.
Across the UK
Soul in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#482 in 2023
1 years of NRS records, 6 total registered
Related
Names similar to Soul
- Samuel 108,505
- Sebastian 33,008
- Sam 20,889
- Stanley 16,354
- Sonny 15,028
- Sean 15,006
- Scott 12,587
- Seth 9,841
- Syed 9,050
- Stephen 8,884
- Spencer 8,333
- Steven 6,970
FAQ
Soul: questions and answers
How popular is the name Soul in the UK right now?
In 2024, Soul was ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales, with 13 births registered.
When was Soul most popular?
The peak year on record was 2009, with 13 babies registered as Soul in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Soul?
The English word derived from French meaning the spiritual force within a person.
How many people are called Soul in the UK?
A total of 195 babies have been registered as Soul across the 25 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 6 more in Scotland.
Where is Soul most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Soul ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #482 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.