UK boy's name
Tim
Short form of Timotheus/Timothy, Greek name meaning "honoring God".
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.
Tim is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Tim 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 1996, with 28 births.
This profile covers 450 England and Wales registrations across 29 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 46% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 467 living people in the UK are called Tim. 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
- • Tim ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 13 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1996, when 28 boys were registered as Tim.
- • Tim ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #392 in 2020.
- • About 467 living people in the UK are estimated to have Tim as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#1859
2024
Births in 2024
13
Latest year
Peak year
1996
28 births
Estimated living
467
2026
Meaning
What does Tim mean?
The name Tim is an English diminutive form of the name Timothy, which has Greek origins. Timothy derives from the Greek name Timotheos, composed of the elements timē meaning "honor" and theos meaning "god." The name Timothy first appears in the Bible's New Testament as the name of one of Saint Paul's companions.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tim dates back to the late 14th century in England. William Tymme was recorded as living in Yorkshire in 1379. Over the centuries, various spellings emerged, including Tymme, Tym, and Tim.
Sir Thomas More, the renowned English scholar, writer, and Lord Chancellor, had a son named Tim who was born in 1512. Tim More was a lawyer and member of Parliament.
In the 16th century, Tim Bobbin, the pen name of John Collier (1708-1786), was an English satirist and author known for his works written in the Lancashire dialect.
Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955) is the English computer scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web in 1989. His pioneering work at CERN laid the foundation for the modern internet.
Tim Burton (born 1958) is an American film director, producer, artist, and animator, renowned for his dark and gothic aesthetic. His notable films include Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Tim Curry (born 1946) is an English actor and singer, best known for his iconic role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). He has had a prolific career in theater, television, and film.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Tim over time
The chart below shows babies named Tim 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 Tim, the clearest high point is 1996. The latest England and Wales figure is 13 births in 2024, compared with 28 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tim by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Tim 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 | #2435 | 45 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1880 | 124 | 10 |
| 2000s | #1136 | 184 | 10 |
| 1990s | #689 | 97 | 4 |
Geography
Where Tim is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Tim. 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.
Tim ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #392 in 2020.
Across the UK
Tim in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#626 in 2009
2 years of NRS records, 9 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#392 in 2020
4 years of NISRA records, 12 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Tim
-
Tim Woolgar
chess player; boxer; chess boxer
British chess boxer
1972-
-
Tim Wren
cricketer
cricketer (born 1970)
1970-
-
Tim Willcox
writer; news presenter; journalist; essayist
English journalist
1963-
-
Tim de Lisle
writer; journalist; publisher
British writer
1962-
-
Tim Whitnall
actor; screenwriter; musician; television actor
English actor
1961-
-
Tim Wilson
politician; animator
British animator and politician (born 1961)
1961-
-
Tim Le Cocq
judge
bailiff of Jersey
1956-
-
Tim Woodward
actor; television actor
English actor (1953–2023)
1953-2023
Related
Names similar to Tim
- Thomas 160,894
- Tyler 42,147
- Theo 40,594
- Toby 32,482
- Theodore 30,211
- Tommy 25,300
- Teddy 20,781
- Taylor 14,354
- Tobias 13,102
- Tom 9,822
- Tristan 9,171
- Timothy 6,200
FAQ
Tim: questions and answers
How popular is the name Tim in the UK right now?
In 2024, Tim was ranked #1859 for boys in England and Wales, with 13 births registered.
When was Tim most popular?
The peak year on record was 1996, with 28 babies registered as Tim in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Tim?
Short form of Timotheus/Timothy, Greek name meaning "honoring God".
How many people are called Tim in the UK?
A total of 450 babies have been registered as Tim across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 9 more in Scotland and 12 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Tim most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Tim ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #392 in 2020. 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.