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Premium Bonds are entered into a monthly prize draw and every bond has equal chance of winning
Vicky ShawWednesday 03 December 2025 14:54 GMT
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An analysis of significant Premium Bonds prizes reveals a curious trend: winners are particularly likely to be named David, John, Michael, or Susan.
Despite the prizes being drawn entirely at random, NS&I (National Savings & Investments) data shows that David has been the most common name for those winning £500 or more every year since 2022.
This is consistently followed by John, Michael, Susan, Peter, and Paul. Since 2020, customers named David have won a £500-plus prize over 67,000 times in a given year. So far this year, 18,220 Davids have already secured at least one such prize. Other frequently appearing names among winners include Andrew, Robert, Stephen, Margaret, Christopher, James, Elizabeth, and Richard.
Premium Bond prizes are considered by NS&I to be ‘unclaimed’ after 18 months, but there is no time limit to claiming them (Alamy/PA)Here are the most common names in 2025 so far of Premium Bond winners of prizes of £500-plus, according to NS&I, based on the January to October prize draws.
The figures exclude customers where the name is unknown (the figures show that, for example, there were 18,220 people named David who won at least one £500-plus prize in 2025):
1. David, 18,220
2. John, 16,058
3. Michael, 11,772
4. Susan, 11,597
5. Peter, 9,683
6. Paul, 9,203
7. Andrew, 8,572
8. Robert, 8,510
9. Stephen, 7,768
10. Margaret, 7,503
11. Richard, 7,463
12. James, 7,222
13. Christopher, 6,868
14. Elizabeth, 5,961
15. Patricia, 5,859
16. Mark, 5,839
17. Ian, 5,757
18. Christine, 5,718
19. Alan, 5,133
20. Janet, 5,004
21. Sarah, 4,863
=22. Linda, 4,825
=22. William, 4,825
24. Anthony, 4,617
25. Jane, 4,536
26. Helen, 4,524
27. Mary, 4,336
28. Brian, 4,256
29. Jennifer, 4,201
30. Julie, 4,096
31. Philip, 4,054
32. Karen, 3,901
33. Gillian, 3,826
34. Anne, 3,791
35. Jacqueline, 3,778
36. Ann, 3,694
37. Thomas, 3,689
=38. Barbara, 3,496
=38. Simon, 3,496
40. Martin, 3,471
41. Carol, 3,420
42. Jean, 3,403
43. Graham, 3,376
44. Alison, 3,220
45. Colin, 3,194
46. Catherine, 3,124
47. Angela, 3,029
48. Nicholas, 2,932
49. Sandra, 2,930
50. Pamela, 2,910
51. Keith, 2,904
52. Matthew, 2,774
53. Steven, 2,763
54. Kevin, 2,720
55. Valerie, 2,705
56. Jonathan, 2,661
57. Sheila, 2,598
58. Nicola, 2,457
59. Maureen, 2,436
60. Pauline, 2,431
61. Deborah, 2,414
62. Caroline, 2,400
63. Wendy, 2,389
64. Judith, 2,382
65. Neil, 2,320
66. Joan, 2,296
67. Gary, 2,295
=68. George, 2,275
=68. Roger, 2,275
70. Daniel, 2,246
71. Kenneth, 2,223
72. Claire, 2,166
73. Timothy, 2,138
74. Nigel, 2,129
75. Lesley, 2,102
76. Kathleen, 2,091
77. Emma, 2,083
78. Sally, 2,055
79. Joanne, 2,005
80. Diane, 1,978
81. Edward, 1,970
82. Stuart, 1,963
83. Geoffrey, 1,930
84. Derek, 1,869
85. Elaine, 1,833
86. Sharon, 1,801
87. Amanda, 1,793
88. Rachel, 1,777
89. Rosemary, 1,775
90. Raymond, 1,748
91. Fiona, 1,747
92. Charles, 1,714
=93. Brenda, 1,711
=93. Louise, 1,711
95. Rebecca, 1,706
96. Alexander, 1,700
97. Barry, 1,685
98. Julia, 1,650
99. Malcolm, 1,627
100. Shirley, 1,623
Andrew Westhead, NS&I retail director, said: “Premium Bonds are one of the nation’s favourite savings products, and since 1957 we’ve given away hundreds of millions of prizes, so it’s interesting to see the most common names of some of our winners.
“But it’s important to remember that whatever your name, the Premium Bonds draw is completely random, with each Bond having an equal chance of winning.”
Premium Bonds are entered into a monthly prize draw, with prizes ranging from £25 to £1 million. NS&I pays out two £1 million jackpots each month.
