UK boy's name
Victor
Masculine Latin name meaning "conqueror" or "victor".
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.
Victor is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Victor popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #274, with 167 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2017, with 236 births.
This profile covers 4,279 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 71% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 4,557 living people in the UK are called Victor. 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
- • Victor ranked #274 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 167 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2017, when 236 boys were registered as Victor.
- • Victor ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #404 in 2024.
- • About 4,557 living people in the UK are estimated to have Victor as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#274
2024
Births in 2024
167
Latest year
Peak year
2017
236 births
Estimated living
4,557
2026
Meaning
What does Victor mean?
The name Victor has its origins in the Latin word "victor" which means "conqueror" or "victor." It is believed to have been derived from the Latin verb "vincere" which means "to conquer" or "to overcome."
The name gained popularity in ancient Rome, where it was often given to military leaders or victorious generals as a way of celebrating their triumphs and victories on the battlefield. It was a name that carried a sense of strength, courage, and success.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Victor can be found in Roman historical records, where a Roman general named Gaius Julius Victor lived in the 1st century AD. He was known for his military conquests and victories against various barbarian tribes that threatened the Roman Empire.
In the Christian tradition, the name Victor is associated with several notable figures, including Saint Victor of Marseilles (c. 290-303 AD), a Roman soldier who was martyred for his Christian beliefs. Another notable figure was Victor of Vita (c. 430-490 AD), a historian who chronicled the persecution of Christians in North Africa during the Vandal invasion.
Throughout history, the name Victor has been borne by several influential individuals, including:
1. Victor Hugo (1802-1885), a renowned French novelist, poet, and playwright, best known for his works such as "Les Misérables" and "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame."
2. Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878), the first King of a united Italy, who played a pivotal role in the Italian unification movement.
3. Victor Fleming (1889-1949), an American film director best known for directing the classic film "Gone with the Wind."
4. Victor Frankenstein, the fictional character and protagonist in Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" (1818), who created a sentient being in a scientific experiment.
5. Victor Borge (1909-2000), a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist, renowned for his unique blend of humor and classical music performances.
The name Victor has continued to be popular across various cultures and regions, carrying with it a sense of triumph, victory, and overcoming challenges.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Victor over time
The chart below shows babies named Victor 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 Victor, the clearest high point is 2017. The latest England and Wales figure is 167 births in 2024, compared with 236 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Victor by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Victor 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 | #258 | 920 | 5 |
| 2010s | #249 | 2,063 | 10 |
| 2000s | #328 | 1,062 | 10 |
| 1990s | #386 | 234 | 4 |
Geography
Where Victor is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Victor. 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.
Victor ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #404 in 2024.
Across the UK
Victor in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#432 in 2024
39 years of NRS records, 272 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#404 in 2024
11 years of NISRA records, 39 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Victor
-
Victor Watts
translator
British translator
1938-2002
-
Victor Watson
writer
English children's writer, children's literature scholar and teacher
1936-
-
Victor Winding
actor; television actor
British actor (1929-2014)
1929-2014
-
Victor de Waal
university chaplain
Dean of Canterbury (born 1929)
1929-
-
Victor Watson
businessperson
British businessman
1928-2015
-
Victor Willing
painter
British painter (1928–1988)
1928-1988
-
Victor Whitsey
Anglican priest
Anglican bishop (1916-1987)
1916-1987
-
Victor Weisz
cartoonist
German-British political cartoonist (1913–1966)
1913-1966
Related
Names similar to Victor
- Vincent 7,753
- Vinnie 6,092
- Vinny 1,401
- Veer 1,163
- Vihaan 948
- Valentino 883
- Viktor 706
- Vlad 677
- Vivaan 615
- Vincenzo 587
- Vladimir 541
- Viraj 438
FAQ
Victor: questions and answers
How popular is the name Victor in the UK right now?
In 2024, Victor was ranked #274 for boys in England and Wales, with 167 births registered.
When was Victor most popular?
The peak year on record was 2017, with 236 babies registered as Victor in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Victor?
Masculine Latin name meaning "conqueror" or "victor".
How many people are called Victor in the UK?
A total of 4,279 babies have been registered as Victor across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 272 more in Scotland and 39 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Victor most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Victor ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #404 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.