Head to head · Girls' names
Adhara vs Astrid
#370 vs #376 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Adhara is a whisker ahead (#370 vs #376 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. 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, Adhara leads 4 measures of 6; Astrid 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: Adhara —, Astrid #1350 — Astrid higher
- 1900s: Adhara —, Astrid #1155 — Astrid higher
- 1910s: Adhara —, Astrid #940 — Astrid higher
- 1920s: Adhara —, Astrid #1792 — Astrid higher
- 1930s: Adhara —, Astrid #1583 — Astrid higher
- 1940s: Adhara —, Astrid #2702 — Astrid higher
- 1950s: Adhara —, Astrid #2870 — Astrid higher
- 1960s: Adhara —, Astrid #2078 — Astrid higher
- 1970s: Adhara —, Astrid #2410 — Astrid higher
- 1980s: Adhara —, Astrid #1954 — Astrid higher
- 1990s: Adhara —, Astrid #1230 — Astrid higher
- 2000s: Adhara —, Astrid #1140 — Astrid higher
- 2010s: Adhara #10063, Astrid #879 — Astrid higher
- 2020s: Adhara #1977, Astrid #409 — Astrid higher
Astrid stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Adhara | Astrid |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #1350 |
| 1900s | — | #1155 |
| 1910s | — | #940 |
| 1920s | — | #1792 |
| 1930s | — | #1583 |
| 1940s | — | #2702 |
| 1950s | — | #2870 |
| 1960s | — | #2078 |
| 1970s | — | #2410 |
| 1980s | — | #1954 |
| 1990s | — | #1230 |
| 2000s | — | #1140 |
| 2010s | #10063 | #879 |
| 2020s | #1977 | #409 |
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
Adhara
the maidens, from Arabic al-ʿadhārā
ʿadhārā is the plural of ʿadhrāʾ, maiden or virgin. The plural referred to a group of stars in that part of the sky, and the name later attached to just the brightest of them.
al-ʿadhārā (Arabic asterism name) → Adhara (Latinized star name in medieval European astronomy) → Adhara (given name)
How it traveled
The name belongs first to a star: Epsilon Canis Majoris, blazing at the hind leg of the Great Dog. Arab astronomers of the medieval period named a cluster of stars there al-ʿadhārā, the maidens, and when Arabic astronomical works were translated into Latin in the Middle Ages, dozens of such names crossed into European use in half-Latinized form — Adhara among them.
Astrid
Divinely beautiful — from Old Norse áss, 'god', and fríðr, 'fair, beautiful'
The second element fríðr is also read as 'beloved' in some Norse names, which shifts the sense slightly toward 'beloved of the gods'; the first element, áss, is not in dispute.
Ástríðr → Estrid → Åstrid → Astrid
How it traveled
Ástríðr is an Old Norse compound of áss, 'god', and fríðr, 'fair', and it belonged to the medieval Scandinavian nobility — Astrid Olofsdotter, daughter of the Swedish king, married Olaf II of Norway in the eleventh century. The older Danish and Swedish form Estrid was in use in the same period.
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
Adhara
ah-DAH-rah
Spanish speakers say it with three even, open vowels and a plain d — the h is silent. In English you will also hear uh-DAR-uh, and some readers try ad-HAR-uh on first sight. Saying it once usually settles it.
- Ada — Informal short form; also a long-established given name in its own right across English, German and Spanish.
- Dara — Takes the stressed middle syllable; stands alone as a given name in Irish and Hebrew traditions.
- Addie — Informal, English-language; shared with Adelaide, Adeline and Addison, so it says less about the full name.
- Ari — Informal, drawn loosely from the sound rather than the spelling; used in both Spanish- and English-speaking families.
Astrid
AS-trid
Stress on the first syllable; the second rhymes with 'did'. Swedish and Norwegian speakers use a broader first vowel, closer to AH-strid, and both are recognized.
- Astri — The standard short form in Norway, where it also stands alone as a given name.
- Asta — Long established in Denmark and Norway both as a clipping and as an independent name.
- Sassa — A Swedish pet form, informal and family-level rather than official.
- Assi — An informal Scandinavian pet form, used within families more than outside them.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Adhara if you want…
- a name on the way upup 5,322 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itAdhara runs 3 syllables, Astrid 2
Choose Astrid if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesAstrid is 2 syllables to Adhara's 3
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
Adhara
Strengths
- Anchored to a real, named star with a documented Arabic origin — an answer to "where does it come from" that holds up.
- Works in both Spanish and English without changing spelling, which matters in the states where it is most used.
- Short forms already exist and are familiar: Ada and Dara are both established names on their own.
To consider
- The dh will cost some spelling. Adara is the form many people default to, and the h gets dropped in writing more often than it gets added.
- Two pronunciations circulate — the Spanish ah-DAH-rah and an anglicized uh-DAR-uh. Neither is wrong, but a child may spend a lifetime choosing which one to correct.
- It is climbing quickly. A child born now may be the only Adhara in the building, and still meet several by the time she finishes school.
Astrid
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in English, and the same six letters work in Swedish, German, Dutch, French and Spanish without adjustment.
- A documented record running unbroken from the Viking age to the present, so it is old without being a revival curiosity.
- Short forms already exist and are centuries old — Astri, Asta, Sassa — rather than having to be invented.
To consider
- The -str- cluster is a mouthful for a toddler learning to say their own name, and for other small children saying it back. Most families find it sorts itself out, but the first couple of years can involve some 'Assi' or 'Asti'.
- It is climbing quickly in the United States. A child born now is unlikely to share it in a classroom, but the name will be noticeably more familiar by the time they are grown than it is today.
- Expect an occasional slide into 'Astrid' being heard as 'Ashtrid' or written as 'Astride', and a fair number of people will connect it first to the character in How to Train Your Dragon rather than to anything Norse.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Adhara
68%chance Adhara feels dated by 2040
Adhara 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.
Astrid
49%chance Astrid feels dated by 2040
Astrid 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 Adhara and Astrid 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 Adhara and Astrid?
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 these names appear on
- Names that didn't exist a generation ago
- Names predicted to enter the top 100 by 2030
- Names with only one spelling
- Names ending in -ra
- all guides
Where Adhara and Astrid each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Adhara or Astrid — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Adhara or Astrid?
- Adhara, in 2025: Adhara ranked #370 with 829 babies; Astrid ranked #376 with 818 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Adhara or Astrid?
- Adhara. Over the last five years Adhara moved up 5,322 places; Astrid moved up 73 places.
- Which is the older name, Adhara or Astrid?
- Adhara entered the US charts in 2013; Astrid entered the US charts in 1892. On the American record, Astrid is the older name.
- How many people are named Adhara and Astrid?
- About 2,100 people named Adhara are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 13,000 people named Astrid are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Adharas or Astrids in the classroom?
- Adhara will almost certainly be the only one in school. Astrid 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
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