Head to head · Girls' names
Adelaide vs Milani
#289 vs #288 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Milani is a whisker ahead (#288 vs #289 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, Adelaide leads 3 measures of 6; Milani 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
- 1880s: Adelaide #198, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1890s: Adelaide #233, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1900s: Adelaide #264, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1910s: Adelaide #269, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1920s: Adelaide #374, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1930s: Adelaide #593, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1940s: Adelaide #874, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1950s: Adelaide #1462, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1960s: Adelaide #2580, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1970s: Adelaide #3993, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1980s: Adelaide #3225, Milani — — Adelaide higher
- 1990s: Adelaide #2080, Milani #8346 — Adelaide higher
- 2000s: Adelaide #978, Milani #3553 — Adelaide higher
- 2010s: Adelaide #323, Milani #826 — Adelaide higher
- 2020s: Adelaide #277, Milani #277
Adelaide stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Adelaide | Milani |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #198 | — |
| 1890s | #233 | — |
| 1900s | #264 | — |
| 1910s | #269 | — |
| 1920s | #374 | — |
| 1930s | #593 | — |
| 1940s | #874 | — |
| 1950s | #1462 | — |
| 1960s | #2580 | — |
| 1970s | #3993 | — |
| 1980s | #3225 | — |
| 1990s | #2080 | #8346 |
| 2000s | #978 | #3553 |
| 2010s | #323 | #826 |
| 2020s | #277 | #277 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Adelaide
noble kind, of noble nature
From the Germanic elements adal "noble" and heid "kind, sort, quality."
Adalheidis → Adelheid → Adelais → Adélaïde → Adelaide
How it traveled
The name begins as Germanic Adalheidis and spreads through medieval Europe in the form Adelheid, worn most famously by Adelaide of Italy, the tenth-century empress who married Otto the Great and was later canonized. Old French speakers wore the name down to Adelais and then Aalis, which English took up as Alice, while the fuller Adélaïde came back into fashion in France in the eighteenth century and crossed into English soon after.
Milani
most often read as "from Milan"
As an Italian surname, Milani is well documented and means "of Milan" — one of the many family names built from a city. As a given name in the United States it also sits beside the Slavic Milana and Milena, from an element meaning "dear" or "gracious", and beside Hawaiian Leilani, which it echoes in sound. Which of these a particular family had in mind is not something the record settles.
How it traveled
The surname Milani is old and ordinary in Italy, formed the way city surnames are: Milano gives Milani, marking a family as coming from Milan, itself the Roman Mediolanum. The same spelling turns up as a surname in Iran as well.
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
Adelaide
AD-uh-layd
Stress on the first syllable. The French Adélaïde is ah-day-lah-EED, and Australians often reduce the final syllable to AD-uh-lid when naming the city.
- Addie — The most widely used short form; also arrives from Adeline, Adelia and Addison, so it is shared.
- Ada — Informal short form that has long stood on its own as a given name too.
- Della — An older short form, also linked to Adela; used more by earlier generations than current ones.
- Heidi — The traditional German pet form of Adelheid, now overwhelmingly an independent name in English.
- Also Laidey.
Milani
mih-LAH-nee
Stress on the middle syllable. A first vowel closer to "mee" is also heard, and both pass without comment. The spelling gives the sound away, so strangers rarely need a second try.
- Mila — The most natural short form, and a fully established given name in its own right across Europe and the US.
- Lani — Informal, taken from the back half; also stands alone as a name, particularly in Hawaii.
- Millie — Informal and English-flavored; more often attached to Millicent or Amelia, but it works here.
- Mimi — A household nickname rather than a school one.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Adelaide if you want…
- a name holding steadyAdelaide is holding its place on the charts
- a long American recordAdelaide was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Milani if you want…
- a newer arrivalMilani entered the US charts in 1991
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
Adelaide
Strengths
- A spelling most Americans already recognize from the Australian city, so it rarely needs to be spelled out letter by letter.
- More than a thousand years of continuous documented use, across German, French, Italian, Spanish and English.
- Several long-established short forms — Addie, Ada, Della — so a child has real choices without inventing anything.
To consider
- Adelaide is a city before it is a person for many people, and the question "like the one in Australia?" will come up often.
- It sits in a thicket of near-neighbors — Adeline, Adelina, Adela, Adalyn — so expect occasional mix-ups, and expect Addie to be shared with several of them.
- Three and a half syllables is a lot of name for a small child to write; the short forms will do most of the daily work for the early years.
Milani
Strengths
- Two ready short forms, Mila and Lani, each already established as a standalone name — useful at every age.
- Spelled the way it sounds for English speakers, so it survives being read aloud from a list.
- Sits inside a familiar sound family — Melanie, Milana, Leilani — which means people hear it correctly the first time.
To consider
- It lives close to Melanie, Milana, Malani and Leilani, and those neighbors are where the mistakes come from — expect Melani, Milanie and Mylani on forms and roll calls.
- Milani is also a well-known American cosmetics brand, and some adults will place that first. It fades quickly with a person attached to the name, but it is worth knowing.
- The name's wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is a child. It reads clearly as a name of this generation rather than a family heirloom.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Adelaide
25%chance Adelaide feels dated by 2040
Adelaide peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
Milani
40%chance Milani feels dated by 2040
Milani 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 Adelaide and Milani 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 Adelaide and Milani?
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
Every list here names both Adelaide and Milani — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Adelaide or Milani — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Adelaide or Milani?
- Milani, in 2025: Milani ranked #288 with 1,063 babies; Adelaide ranked #289 with 1,062 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Adelaide or Milani?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Adelaide moved down 17 places; Milani is holding its place on the charts.
- Which is the older name, Adelaide or Milani?
- Adelaide was already in use when US records began in 1880; Milani entered the US charts in 1991. On the American record, Adelaide is the older name.
- How many people are named Adelaide and Milani?
- About 22,500 people named Adelaide are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 11,500 people named Milani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Adelaides or Milanis in the classroom?
- Adelaide will almost certainly be the only one in school. Milani will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. 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 Adelaide, Milani and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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