Head to head · Boys' names
Adam vs Amir
#101 vs #105 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Adam is a whisker ahead (#101 vs #105 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Adam leads 5 measures of 6; Amir leads 1.
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
- 1880s: Adam #135, Amir — — Adam higher
- 1890s: Adam #172, Amir — — Adam higher
- 1900s: Adam #184, Amir — — Adam higher
- 1910s: Adam #191, Amir — — Adam higher
- 1920s: Adam #269, Amir — — Adam higher
- 1930s: Adam #356, Amir — — Adam higher
- 1940s: Adam #400, Amir — — Adam higher
- 1950s: Adam #380, Amir #3666 — Adam higher
- 1960s: Adam #146, Amir #2488 — Adam higher
- 1970s: Adam #42, Amir #1105 — Adam higher
- 1980s: Adam #22, Amir #668 — Adam higher
- 1990s: Adam #39, Amir #553 — Adam higher
- 2000s: Adam #61, Amir #340 — Adam higher
- 2010s: Adam #80, Amir #199 — Adam higher
- 2020s: Adam #101, Amir #109 — Adam higher
Adam stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Adam | Amir |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #135 | — |
| 1890s | #172 | — |
| 1900s | #184 | — |
| 1910s | #191 | — |
| 1920s | #269 | — |
| 1930s | #356 | — |
| 1940s | #400 | — |
| 1950s | #380 | #3666 |
| 1960s | #146 | #2488 |
| 1970s | #42 | #1105 |
| 1980s | #22 | #668 |
| 1990s | #39 | #553 |
| 2000s | #61 | #340 |
| 2010s | #80 | #199 |
| 2020s | #101 | #109 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Adam
- France#9
- Canada#14
- Scotland#32
- England & Wales#35
Amir
- France#56
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Adam
man, human being
In Genesis the word is built on the same root as adamah, "ground" or "earth" — the text plays on the connection deliberately, and translators have followed it for centuries.
אָדָם (Hebrew Adam) → Ἀδάμ (Greek Adam) → Adam (Latin) → Adam (English)
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, and it begins as a common noun for humankind before it becomes a personal name in the opening chapters of Genesis. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible carried it over unchanged as Ἀδάμ, Latin kept it as Adam, and from there it entered every language the Bible reached.
Amir
prince, commander (Arabic)
The Arabic amīr comes from a root meaning to command or to order. A separate Hebrew name spelled the same way, Amir, means the crown or top of a tree, and also a sheaf of cut grain — so the same four letters reach children by two unrelated roads, depending on the family.
amīr (Arabic: one who commands) → Amīr → Emir (Turkish) → Amir
How it traveled
The Arabic amīr began as a word for one who commands, and it became a formal title across the Islamic world — most famously in amīr al-muʼminīn, commander of the faithful, borne by caliphs from the seventh century onward. " Independently, Hebrew has its own Amir, a nature word for the top of a tree, in use as a modern given name in Israel.
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
Adam
AD-am
Stress on the first syllable, the second reduced to a soft 'um'. In France it charts too, said closer to ah-DAM with the stress moved back; Polish and Hungarian speakers give both vowels fuller value.
- Ad — The most common informal clip, used among friends and family rather than in writing.
- Addy — Affectionate, more often heard from parents and grandparents than from peers; also used as a short form of several girls' names.
- Ade — Heard mainly in Britain and Ireland; spelled the same way, said like the word 'aid'.
- Adz — A modern British schoolyard clip, informal only.
Amir
ah-MEER
The stress falls on the second syllable in Arabic, Hebrew and Persian alike. In American English you will also hear uh-MEER, and occasionally a front-stressed AH-mir from people guessing at the spelling — worth saying it aloud once at introductions.
- Ami — Informal short form used within families; also stands alone as a given name in Hebrew and in several European languages.
- Mir — Clipped informal form, more common among friends and siblings than in adult use.
Who has carried each name
Adam
Adam Smith (b. 1723) — The Wealth of Nations founded modern economics
Adam Sandler (b. 1966) — Comedy megastar
Adam Levine (b. 1979) — Maroon 5 frontman
Amir
No documented entry for Amir yet.
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 Adam if you want…
- a name holding steadyAdam is holding its place on the charts
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Ad, Addy and Ade
- a name that charts abroad tooAdam is on the national lists of France, Canada, Scotland and England & Wales
- a long American recordAdam was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Amir if you want…
- a name on the way upup 12 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalAmir entered the US charts in 1954
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
Adam
Strengths
- One spelling everywhere. Nobody in the English-speaking world needs it clarified, and it survives intact into Arabic, French, Polish and Hebrew.
- An unbroken written record from the earliest books of the Hebrew Bible to this year's class lists — few names can show a line that long.
- Recognized in Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition alike, which makes it unusually portable across families and countries.
To consider
- The Adam-and-Eve pairing is inescapable, and so is 'Adam's apple.' Neither causes trouble day to day, but it does mean the name arrives with a story already attached — and a sibling named Eve or Eva may sound more like a set than you intend.
- There are a great many adult Adams walking around, most of them now in their thirties and forties, so the name reads as grown-up to many people even on a small child. A boy named Adam today, though, is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- Nickname options are thin and slightly dated. If you want a name with several affectionate forms to grow into, Adam mostly stays Adam.
Amir
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and readable at first sight for most English speakers, with no silent letters to explain.
- Works as a native name across Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Malay, Bosnian and Hebrew-speaking communities.
- Also charts in France, so it travels without becoming a foreign object.
To consider
- Ameer, Amer and the Turkish Emir are all in circulation, and Amari and Amira are close neighbors in sound — expect to spell it aloud and to correct the occasional wrong form.
- The meaning is a live word, not a faded one: Arabic speakers hear "prince" or "commander" straight away, which some families love and others find a lot to carry.
- Because two separate names — Arabic and Hebrew — meet at this spelling, people will sometimes assume a background your family may not have. A one-line answer usually settles it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Adam
25%chance Adam feels dated by 2040
Adam peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
Amir
40%chance Amir feels dated by 2040
Amir sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
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 Adam and Amir in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Adam and Amir?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- The sweet spot: familiar but not everywhere
- all guides
Every list here names both Adam and Amir — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Adam or Amir — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Adam or Amir?
- Adam, in 2025: Adam ranked #101 with 3,501 babies; Amir ranked #105 with 3,297 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Adam or Amir?
- Amir. Over the last five years Adam moved down 4 places; Amir moved up 12 places.
- Which is the older name, Adam or Amir?
- Adam was already in use when US records began in 1880; Amir entered the US charts in 1954. On the American record, Adam is the older name.
- How many people are named Adam and Amir?
- About 537,000 people named Adam are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 55,000 people named Amir are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Adams or Amirs in the classroom?
- Adam will almost certainly be the only one in school. Amir 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Adam, Amir and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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