Lowest number of births since 1982

Today, Jersey’s Superintendent Registrar has published her Annual Statement, which provides insights into Islanders’ key life events, including births, deaths and marriages.

One of the most notable statistics is that there were 880 births in Jersey in 2019. This is the lowest number of births registered in Jersey since 1982, and 53 fewer than in 2018.

There were 795 deaths registered in Jersey in 2019, 36 fewer than in 2018. This is the lowest number of deaths registered since 2016.

The number of marriages registered continues to fall. 2019 saw 359 marriages in Jersey. This is 79 fewer than in 2018 and represents the lowest number of marriages registered in Jersey since 1945. Of these marriages, 28% were religious ceremonies, while 72% were civil (non-religious) ceremonies. 

There was one civil partnership ceremony in Jersey in 2019 – six fewer than in 2018. Meanwhile eight couple converted their civil partnerships to marriages in line with amendments to the Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001.

The Office of the Superintendent Registrar also records trends in baby names. Olivia and Oliver emerged as the most popular baby names of 2019. Olivia has been the favourite girls’ name three times in the last four years, while Oliver has consistently been in the top four names in the last four years.

Since 2016, nature-inspired names have been popular for girls: Ivy, Daisy, Poppy, Lily and Ruby have featured in the top 10. For boys, traditional names like Henry, Edward, and Arthur have been joined by more modern names, like Archie, Alfie and Mason. Royal baby names continue to be popular in Jersey with Archie, George and Charlotte proving popular in 2019.

Claire Follain, Superintendent Registrar, said: “The figures for 2019 are in line with longer-term trends. We’ve seen an overall decline in births and marriages, while the number of deaths has remained largely stable. Similar trends have emerged in other jurisdictions such as the UK and Ireland.”