Head to head · Girls' names
Aaliyah vs Margot
#101 vs #102 in 2025
Aaliyah is a whisker ahead (#101 vs #102 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Aaliyah is stepping back from its peak, Margot is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Margot has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Aaliyah leads 4 measures of 6; Margot leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Aaliyah —, Margot #1487 — Margot higher
- 1900s: Aaliyah —, Margot #1439 — Margot higher
- 1910s: Aaliyah —, Margot #1195 — Margot higher
- 1920s: Aaliyah —, Margot #1128 — Margot higher
- 1930s: Aaliyah —, Margot #646 — Margot higher
- 1940s: Aaliyah —, Margot #721 — Margot higher
- 1950s: Aaliyah —, Margot #921 — Margot higher
- 1960s: Aaliyah —, Margot #970 — Margot higher
- 1970s: Aaliyah #2604, Margot #1644 — Margot higher
- 1980s: Aaliyah #4292, Margot #1351 — Margot higher
- 1990s: Aaliyah #2259, Margot #1615 — Margot higher
- 2000s: Aaliyah #96, Margot #1723 — Aaliyah higher
- 2010s: Aaliyah #51, Margot #753 — Aaliyah higher
- 2020s: Aaliyah #79, Margot #166 — Aaliyah higher
Margot stood higher in 11 of 14 decades; Aaliyah has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Aaliyah | Margot |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #1487 |
| 1900s | — | #1439 |
| 1910s | — | #1195 |
| 1920s | — | #1128 |
| 1930s | — | #646 |
| 1940s | — | #721 |
| 1950s | — | #921 |
| 1960s | — | #970 |
| 1970s | #2604 | #1644 |
| 1980s | #4292 | #1351 |
| 1990s | #2259 | #1615 |
| 2000s | #96 | #1723 |
| 2010s | #51 | #753 |
| 2020s | #79 | #166 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Aaliyah
Not charting outside the US.
Margot
- England & Wales#28
- France#46
- Canada#68
- Scotland#79
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Aaliyah
high, exalted, sublime
From the Arabic root ʿ-l-w, giving ʿālī (high) and its feminine ʿāliya. The Hebrew word aliyah, "ascent," comes from a cognate Semitic root — a genuine linguistic cousin rather than the same name.
ʿAlī → ʿĀliya → Aliyah → Aaliyah
How it traveled
The name begins with the Arabic adjective ʿāliya, feminine of ʿālī, one of the classic epithets meaning high or exalted, and it has been given across the Arabic-speaking world, Turkey, Iran and South Asia for centuries in forms like Aliye, Aliyeh and Alia. It reached English speakers mainly through transliteration, which is why so many spellings sit side by side — the sound arrived first and the letters were negotiated afterward.
Margot
pearl
The pearl sense comes through Marguerite from Latin margarita and Greek margarites. In French, marguerite is also the word for a daisy, so the flower travels alongside the name.
Margarites → Margarita → Marguerite → Margot
How it traveled
The root is the Greek margarites, pearl, which passed into Latin as margarita and into medieval French as Marguerite — a name spread widely across Europe by the cult of Saint Margaret. Margot arose as its clipped familiar form in French and stuck there for centuries: Marguerite de Valois, the sixteenth-century queen of Navarre, was known as la reine Margot, and Dumas used exactly that title for his novel in 1845.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Aaliyah
ah-LEE-ah
Also widely said ay-LEE-ah in the US, with the first syllable rhyming with "day." Both are established; the closer-to-Arabic version is ah-LEE-ah. Expect to state your preference once and have it stick.
- Liyah — The most common short form in American use; also given as a full name on its own.
- Lia — Informal, and a standalone given name in Italian and German-speaking countries.
- Ali — Casual and unisex in English; note that Ali is also the masculine Arabic name the whole family descends from.
- Lee-Lee — A family-and-friends reduplication, mostly used with young children.
- Also Aya.
Margot
MAR-go
The final t is silent, following the French. A hard-t reading (MAR-got) turns up occasionally in English and is worth deciding on early, since the spelling invites both.
- Margo — The same name without the French t; used as a full given name in its own right as often as a simplification.
- Mags — Informal, borrowed from the Margaret side of the family; playground and family use rather than paperwork.
- Mo — Very informal, one syllable, mostly within families.
- Margie — An older short form more associated with Margaret and Marjorie, occasionally used here too.
Who has carried each name
Aaliyah
Aaliyah (b. 1979) — R&B's "Princess" whose sound shaped a generation
Margot
Margot Robbie (b. 1990) — Barbie herself — and an Oscar-nominated producer
Margot Fonteyn (b. 1919) — Prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet
Margot Frank (b. 1926) — Anne Frank's older sister
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Aaliyah if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAaliyah is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itAaliyah runs 3 syllables, Margot 2
Choose Margot if you want…
- a name on the way upup 132 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMargot is 2 syllables to Aaliyah's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooMargot is on the national lists of England & Wales, France, Canada and Scotland
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Aaliyah
Strengths
- Meaning is documented and uncontested: high, exalted, from Arabic — a straightforward answer when someone asks.
- Recognized across Arabic, Turkish, Persian and South Asian naming traditions as well as English, so it travels without translation.
- Several established short forms already in real use — Liyah, Lia, Ali — none of which need inventing.
To consider
- The spellings compete: Aliyah, Aaliya, Aleah, Alia and Aaliyah all circulate for the same sound. She will spell it out often, and forms will come back wrong.
- Two pronunciations are both in common use, ah-LEE-ah and ay-LEE-ah, so expect to correct people who have met the other one first.
- For many adults, the double-A spelling points straight to the R&B singer. That association is affectionate rather than awkward, but it is there.
Margot
Strengths
- Two syllables, stress on the first, and no cluster of consonants to trip over when said aloud.
- Already a short form, so it needs no nickname to work in daily life.
- Belongs to one of Europe's largest name families — Marguerite, Margaret, Margherita, Margarita all connect back to it.
To consider
- The silent t means a lifetime of small corrections: Margot, Margo and Margaux all sound the same, and people will guess wrong in both directions.
- The name is climbing quickly, so a child born now may meet more Margots than today's numbers suggest — the classroom picture tends to lag the trend by a few years.
- In recent memory the name is strongly attached to one very visible actor, which can mean an association-by-reflex for a while. Fame moves on; the name predates it by centuries.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Aaliyah
78%chance Aaliyah feels dated by 2040
Aaliyah is coming down from a big peak (#36 in 2012). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Margot
59%chance Margot feels dated by 2040
Margot is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Aaliyah and Margot in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Aaliyah and Margot?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Aaliyah and Margot — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Aaliyah or Margot — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Aaliyah or Margot?
- Aaliyah, in 2025: Aaliyah ranked #101 with 2,607 babies; Margot ranked #102 with 2,575 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Aaliyah or Margot?
- Margot. Over the last five years Aaliyah moved down 36 places; Margot moved up 132 places.
- Which is the older name, Aaliyah or Margot?
- Aaliyah entered the US charts in 1976; Margot entered the US charts in 1894. On the American record, Margot is the older name.
- How many people are named Aaliyah and Margot?
- About 109,000 people named Aaliyah are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 23,000 people named Margot are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Aaliyahs or Margots in the classroom?
- Aaliyah will almost certainly be the only one in school. Margot will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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