Girl's name
Wren
Say it REN
English origin 1 syllable
Where Wren is loved, common and rare
Common in British Columbia. Rare in Ontario, the UK and Ireland.
1 in 700 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
British Columbia 72ndOntario 111thEngland and Wales 137th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 6 of the 40 official lists, among them British Columbia (72nd), Ontario (111th) and England and Wales (137th).
Show all 6 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia province | 72nd 2023 | 35 | about 1 in 342 |
| Ontario province | 111th 2024 | 94 | about 1 in 579 |
| England and Wales | 137th 2025 | 362 | 1 in 700 |
| Scotland | 164th 2025 | 25 | 1 in 716 |
| Northern Ireland | 205th 2025 | 8 | 1 in 911 |
| Ireland | 247th 2025 | 17 | 1 in 1,243 |
Rare, below the listed names: Quebec, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Sources: BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland). How we count, and every source
About the name
Wren began as a nickname, from the Middle English wrenne, the small songbird. No other meaning is recorded, so it is best understood as a bird name that became a given name.
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A single syllable, said REN, with a silent w at the start. Ren is the phonetic spelling.
It is a North American and British name, a top-80 name in British Columbia and well used in Ontario and in England and Wales. It is rising in every region where it is recorded. Most bearers are girls, but it is sometimes given to boys, with about one in eight going to a boy. Canadian records show it peaking in 2022, which makes it very much a name of the current generation.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- REN, 1 syllable
- Origin
- English
- Other spellings
- Ren
Etymology
Originally a nickname, from Middle English wrenne (“wren”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 6 of 6 regions, falling in none.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 334 | 252 | 233 | 210 | 217 | 184 | 150 | 129 | 128 | 137 |
| Scotland | 336 | 369 | 415 | 286 | 220 | 225 | 151 | 149 | 117 | 164 |
| Northern Ireland | 273 | 333 | 223 | 218 | 302 | 212 | 205 | |||
| Ireland | 585 | 873 | 629 | 628 | 336 | 338 | 364 | 259 | 247 | |
| Ontario | 565 | 599 | 325 | 371 | 315 | 123 | 86 | 121 | 111 | |
| British Columbia | 223 | 243 | 256 | 246 | 106 | 94 | 73 | 72 | ||
| Quebec | 630 |
England and Wales, 1999 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 137 | 362 | 142.9 |
| 2024 | 128 | 377 | 146.1 |
| 2023 | 129 | 387 | 150.8 |
| 2022 | 150 | 326 | 123.7 |
| 2021 | 184 | 279 | 101.8 |
| 2020 | 217 | 219 | 81.6 |
| 2019 | 210 | 236 | 84.3 |
| 2018 | 233 | 216 | 74.9 |
| 2017 | 252 | 197 | 65.9 |
| 2016 | 334 | 147 | 47.9 |
| 2015 | 400 | 115 | 37.3 |
| 2014 | 481 | 89 | 29.0 |
| 2013 | 528 | 79 | 25.6 |
| 2012 | 812 | 47 | 14.6 |
| 2011 | 1096 | 31 | 9.6 |
| 2010 | 2589 | 9 | 2.8 |
| 2009 | 1596 | 17 | 5.4 |
| 2008 | 1516 | 18 | 5.7 |
| 2007 | 2233 | 10 | 3.3 |
| 2006 | 5061 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 2005 | 2438 | 8 | 2.8 |
| 2004 | 3725 | 4 | 1.4 |
| 2003 | 4373 | 3 | 1.1 |
| 2002 | 3409 | 4 | 1.5 |
| 1999 | 3900 | 3 | 1.1 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Wren in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2021. First recorded in 2010. Her peak year there: 2022, at 229.9 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Wren per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2022 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Wren
1 in 1,362 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Wren.
1 in 131 in Scotland
1 in 271 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Wren.
1 in 768 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Wren.
1 in 511 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Wren.
1 in 160 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Wren.
1 in 394 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Wren.
1 in 1,689 in England and Wales
1 in 688 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Wren.
1 in 203 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Wren.
Middle names for Wren
1 in 71 in Scotland
Wren Olivia
1-4 beats · initials WO
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 4 syllables.
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Wren Charlotte
1-2 beats · initials WC
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Wren Emily
1-3 beats · initials WE
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 3 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Wren Sophie
1-2 beats · initials WS
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
Wren Anna
1-2 beats · initials WA
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 154 in Ireland
Wren Emma
1-2 beats · initials WE
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 197 in Ireland
Wren Alice
1-2 beats · initials WA
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 2 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Wren Maria
1-3 beats · initials WM
Changes the beat after Wren: 1 syllable, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Wren
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 1,118 in Scotland
96% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
1 in 2,584 in England and Wales
95% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
1 in 1,224 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
1 in 1,362 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
93% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
1 in 1,689 in England and Wales
93% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
1 in 185 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
1 in 960 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Wren across countries and decades.
Questions about Wren
4 questions, on how popular she is, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Wren?
Her best rank is No. 72 in British Columbia in 2023, about 1 in 342 girls. She is in the published lists of 6 of our 40 regions.
How do you pronounce Wren?
REN, with 1 syllable.
Is Wren getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 6 of 6 regions, falling in none.
Which sister names go with Wren?
The deck's top five sisters for Wren: Juniper, Hallie, Callie, Felicity and Autumn. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.