UK Christening Statistics 2026: How Many Babies Are Christened?
Last updated: September 2026. Sources: Church of England Statistics for Mission 2024 (October 2025), Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales Statistics 2024 (October 2025), ONS Births in England and Wales 2024 (July 2025), ONS Census 2021 and Church of England research. Every figure below links to the page where it was published. Free to cite with a link to this page.
Key takeaways
- Around 99,000 baptisms took place in the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales in 2024 combined — 60,100 Anglican and 38,978 Catholic.
- Roughly 1 in 13 babies born in England and Wales in 2024 was christened before their first birthday in one of the two largest churches (44,854 infant baptisms against 594,677 live births).
- Church of England baptisms and thanksgivings have fallen from 140,900 in 2010 to 61,600 in 2024 — down 56% in fourteen years.
- In 2010 the Church of England christened close to one baby in five; by 2024 it was about one in 22.
- The Church of England now holds around 1,200 christenings a week, down from more than 2,200 a week in 2015.
- Infant baptisms have halved since 2019 in the Church of England: 51,000 → 26,900.
- Adult baptisms are rising in both churches: 8,700 in the Church of England (up from 7,400 in 2019) and 5,432 Catholic baptisms of people over seven, a 21% rise in a year and the highest in over a decade.
- Godparents are the single biggest reason parents give for having a child christened, and 91% say godparents influenced the decision, according to Church of England research.
- A Church of England christening requires at least three godparents and there is no upper limit; each must themselves be baptised.
- The typical parish church held just two christenings in 2024, down from three in 2019.
- Fewer than half of people in England and Wales — 46.2% — described themselves as Christian at the 2021 Census; 37.2% said they had no religion.
- There were 594,677 live births in England and Wales in 2024, the first annual rise since 2021 but still the third-lowest total since 1977.
How many christenings happen in the UK each year?
The two largest churches in England and Wales carried out around 99,000 baptisms in 2024. The Church of England recorded 60,100 baptisms plus 1,520 services of thanksgiving for the birth or adoption of a child, a combined 61,600, according to its annual Statistics for Mission survey, which collects returns from around 89% of its 16,000 churches. That works out at roughly 1,200 christenings a week; in 2015 the Church put the figure at more than 2,200 a week. The Catholic Church in England and Wales recorded 38,978 baptisms in 2024: 18,754 babies under one, 14,792 children aged one to seven and 5,432 people over seven.
Church in Wales, Church of Scotland, Methodist and Baptist baptisms are counted separately by those denominations and are not included in these totals.
What proportion of babies are christened?
The Office for National Statistics recorded 594,677 live births in England and Wales in 2024. Set against 44,854 infant baptisms across the Church of England (26,100) and the Catholic Church (18,754), roughly one baby in 13 was christened before its first birthday in one of the two churches. Looking at the Church of England alone against the 567,708 births in England, the figure is about one in 22.
The change over time is stark. In 2010 the Church of England carried out 140,900 baptisms and thanksgivings in a year when the ONS recorded 723,165 live births — close to one in five.
Are christenings declining?
Yes, and steadily. Church of England baptisms and thanksgivings fell every year from 2011 (144,200) to 2019 (89,600), collapsed to 17,200 during the 2020 lockdowns, recovered to 82,100 in 2022 as postponed services were rescheduled, and have since fallen again to 68,100 in 2023 and 61,600 in 2024. Catholic baptisms fell almost 6% between 2023 and 2024, with the decline concentrated in infants. Both churches say the post-pandemic catch-up has now largely slowed.
| Year | CofE baptisms & thanksgivings | Live births, England & Wales |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 140,900 | 723,165 |
| 2013 | 139,100 | 698,512 |
| 2016 | 115,800 | 696,271 |
| 2019 | 89,600 | 640,370 |
| 2020 | 17,200 | 613,936 |
| 2022 | 82,100 | 605,479 |
| 2023 | 68,100 | 591,072 |
| 2024 | 61,600 | 594,677 |
Births have fallen 18% since 2010; Church of England baptisms have fallen 56%. Even so, 2024 baptisms were 29% above the level the pre-pandemic trend would have predicted, suggesting some families are still catching up on ceremonies that were delayed. The Church estimates around 40,000 people who would have been baptised had there been no pandemic have not yet been.
At what age are children christened?
In 2024 the Church of England baptised 26,100 infants under one, 17,800 children aged one to four, 5,200 children aged five to ten, 2,400 young people aged 11 to 17 and 8,600 adults. Babies still make up the largest group, but the balance has shifted: in 2019 infants outnumbered one-to-four-year-olds by more than two to one; by 2024 the gap had narrowed to three to two. The Church attributes part of this to children who would have been christened as babies in 2020 or 2021 being baptised later instead. The Catholic pattern is similar: 18,754 baptisms of babies under one against 14,792 of children aged one to seven.
Why do parents choose a christening?
The Church of England's Archbishops' Council surveyed 1,000 parents who were not regular churchgoers but had a child aged two or under baptised. 89% said a christening was an essential foundation for life, giving their child a good start and seeking God's blessing. Being surrounded by family and friends mattered too, and godparents most of all: 91% said godparents influenced the decision, and wanting the child to have godparents was the single biggest reason given. The research dates from 2015 but remains the Church's most recent published survey of parents' motivations.
How many godparents can you have?
As many as you like: the Church of England sets a minimum of three godparents and no maximum. Every child should have at least three godparents, two of the same sex as the child and at least one of the opposite sex, and it is common for families to choose four or five. Godparents must themselves have been baptised, though parents do not need to be. Parents can act as godparents to their own child provided they are christened, in which case only one further godparent is needed to reach the minimum of three. Godparents are recorded in the baptism register, so someone unable to attend the service cannot be entered as an official godparent, although the Church says they can still take on the role informally. The Catholic Church works differently: it asks for one or two godparents, at least one of whom must be a confirmed, practising Catholic.
Are adult baptisms increasing?
Yes, in both churches. Church of England adult baptisms rose from 7,400 in 2019 to 7,800 in 2023 and 8,700 in 2024, the highest figure since the Church began recording age categories in 2018. Baptisms of 11-to-17-year-olds also rose, from 2,100 to 2,400, and confirmations increased 5.3% to 11,300. The Catholic Church recorded 5,432 baptisms of people over seven in 2024, up 21% on 2023 and the highest in the eleven years for which figures are published, alongside 3,024 receptions into the Church. So while infant christenings are in long-term decline, baptism is becoming a more common choice for teenagers and adults.
A note of caution on wider claims of a youth revival: the Bible Society's Quiet Revival report of April 2025, which said monthly church attendance among 18-to-24-year-olds had quadrupled from 4% to 16%, was withdrawn in March 2026 after YouGov acknowledged faults in its 2024 survey sample. The baptism figures on this page come from churches' own administrative counts, not opinion polls.
How many christenings does a typical church hold?
The median Church of England church held two baptisms or thanksgivings in 2024, down from three in 2019. A quarter of churches held none at all. The busiest 5% of churches held 17 or more. One in three churches (33%) reported no children under 16 attending in October 2024, up from one in four in 2019.
How religious is the UK now?
The 2021 Census was the first in which fewer than half of people in England and Wales described themselves as Christian: 46.2% (27.5 million), down from 59.3% in 2011 and 71.7% in 2001. "No religion" rose to 37.2% (22.2 million), up from 25.2% a decade earlier. Wales is less religious than England, with 46.5% reporting no religion against 43.6% Christian. The Church of England's regular worshipping community stood at 1,009,000 people in 2024, about 1.7% of the population of England, while Catholic weekly Mass attendance was 575,453.
Non-religious naming ceremonies are the main alternative to a christening. Humanists UK, whose network of more than 500 accredited celebrants conducts namings, weddings and funerals across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, does not publish an annual count of naming ceremonies, so no reliable national figure exists.
How does the wider picture look?
Live births in England and Wales rose 0.6% in 2024 to 594,677, the first increase since 2021 but still the third-lowest total since 1977. The total fertility rate was 1.41 children per woman, the lowest on record for the third year running. The ONS puts the average age of mothers at 31.0 and of fathers at 33.9.
Sources
- Church of England Data Services, Statistics for Mission 2024, published October 2025 — churchofengland.org
- Church of England press release, Attendance at Church of England churches rises for the fourth year in a row, 27 October 2025 — churchofengland.org
- Church of England press release, Christenings – a positive choice, 3 July 2015 — churchofengland.org
- Church of England, Choosing godparents and Christening FAQs — churchofengland.org
- Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Statistics – 2024, published 1 October 2025 — cbcew.org.uk
- Office for National Statistics, Births in England and Wales: 2024, published 1 July 2025 — ons.gov.uk
- Office for National Statistics, Live Births in England and Wales by Characteristics of Mother, 2010 — ons.gov.uk
- Office for National Statistics, Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021, published 29 November 2022 — ons.gov.uk
- Christian Daily International, Bible Society withdraws 'Quiet Revival' data, 27 March 2026 — christiandaily.com
The next Statistics for Mission release is due in autumn 2026 and the next ONS births bulletin in May 2026; this page will be updated when they are published.
Planning a christening? You might find our guides useful: what to write in a christening card and unusual christening gifts for a boy, or browse our personalised christening gifts and gifts for godmothers.