Head to head · Girls' names
Alani vs Anastasia
#161 vs #163 in 2025
Alani is a whisker ahead (#161 vs #163 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Alani is climbing the charts fast, Anastasia is holding its place on the charts.
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
The tape is even: Alani and Anastasia each lead 3 measures of 6.
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: Alani —, Anastasia #522 — Anastasia higher
- 1890s: Alani —, Anastasia #524 — Anastasia higher
- 1900s: Alani —, Anastasia #598 — Anastasia higher
- 1910s: Alani —, Anastasia #586 — Anastasia higher
- 1920s: Alani —, Anastasia #733 — Anastasia higher
- 1930s: Alani —, Anastasia #1060 — Anastasia higher
- 1940s: Alani —, Anastasia #1366 — Anastasia higher
- 1950s: Alani —, Anastasia #1435 — Anastasia higher
- 1960s: Alani —, Anastasia #855 — Anastasia higher
- 1970s: Alani #9750, Anastasia #658 — Anastasia higher
- 1980s: Alani #8202, Anastasia #494 — Anastasia higher
- 1990s: Alani #4217, Anastasia #331 — Anastasia higher
- 2000s: Alani #1090, Anastasia #302 — Anastasia higher
- 2010s: Alani #532, Anastasia #243 — Anastasia higher
- 2020s: Alani #182, Anastasia #166 — Anastasia higher
Anastasia stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alani | Anastasia |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #522 |
| 1890s | — | #524 |
| 1900s | — | #598 |
| 1910s | — | #586 |
| 1920s | — | #733 |
| 1930s | — | #1060 |
| 1940s | — | #1366 |
| 1950s | — | #1435 |
| 1960s | — | #855 |
| 1970s | #9750 | #658 |
| 1980s | #8202 | #494 |
| 1990s | #4217 | #331 |
| 2000s | #1090 | #302 |
| 2010s | #532 | #243 |
| 2020s | #182 | #166 |
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
Alani
orange — the tree, the fruit, the color (Hawaiian); also read as a form of Alana
Hawaiian ʻalani is the word for the orange tree and its color, and that is the reading most often given. The same spelling also functions in English as a variant of Alana and Alanna, the feminine forms of Alan — a name whose own meaning has never been settled, with Breton and Celtic roots argued over for a long time.
ʻalani (Hawaiian) → Alani
How it traveled
The Hawaiian language supplies the clearest road: ʻalani, the orange, a word that names a tree, a fruit and a color together. Hawaiian names traveled steadily into wider American use through the twentieth century — Leilani, Kalani, Malia — and Alani arrived on the charts in that same current, well after the first wave.
Anastasia
Resurrection; she who will rise again
From Greek anastasis, 'resurrection, a rising up' — the feminine counterpart of the man's name Anastasios.
anastasis (Greek: resurrection) → Anastasios → Anastasia → Anastasiya → Stacy
How it traveled
The name is Greek and Christian from the start: anastasis was the word for the Resurrection, and Anastasia was given to daughters as a piece of that vocabulary. It spread with the Eastern church into the Slavic world, where it became one of the great staples of Russian and Ukrainian naming, and westward into Latin Christendom, where it survived in calendars and saints' days.
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
Alani
ah-LAH-nee
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Hawaiian begins with a glottal catch before the first vowel, which English speakers simply drop. A few families say uh-LAY-nee instead, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
- Lani — The most natural short form, and a standing given name in its own right in Hawaii and beyond.
- Ani — Informal, family-level; also an independent name in Armenian and Basque.
- Ally — Informal, shared with Alana, Allison and Alexandra, so it tends to appear in mixed friend groups.
- Nani — Affectionate and household-only; a Hawaiian word and name of its own.
Anastasia
an-uh-STAY-zhuh
That is the usual American pronunciation. Greek, Russian and much of Europe say an-ah-stah-SEE-ah, stressing the second-to-last syllable, and plenty of families in the US use that version too.
- Ana — The most portable short form in English and Spanish alike; also stands alone as a given name.
- Stacy — A historic English clipping of Anastasia that became an independent name; strongly represented among older generations.
- Nastya — The standard everyday short form in Russian and Ukrainian, informal and used among family and friends.
- Stasia — Used in Polish and Slavic families, and by English speakers who prefer the tail of the name to the head.
- Also Tasia, Asya.
Who has carried each name
Alani
No documented entry for Alani yet.
Anastasia
Anastasia Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess of Russia (b. 1901) — The tsar's daughter whose rumored survival inspired decades of legend and films
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 Alani if you want…
- a name on the way upup 60 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesAlani is 3 syllables to Anastasia's 4
- a newer arrivalAlani entered the US charts in 1978
Choose Anastasia if you want…
- a name holding steadyAnastasia is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itAnastasia runs 4 syllables, Alani 3
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Ana, Stacy and Nastya
- a long American recordAnastasia was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Alani
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, with no silent letters and no doubled consonants to explain.
- Already familiar to American ears through Alana, Alanna and Leilani, so it rarely needs repeating twice.
- Has a ready short form in Lani, which also works as a full name.
To consider
- It sits in a crowded family of near-identical names — Alana, Alanna, Alaina, Elena. Expect a lifetime of spelling it out on forms, even to people who know how to say it.
- The chart is rising quickly. A child named Alani today may well share the sound, if not the spelling, with several classmates by the time she is in school.
- A widely sold American energy drink brand carries this name, which means search results and shelf displays are dominated by it for now.
Anastasia
Strengths
- A settled, documented meaning in Greek — resurrection — with no competing readings.
- Recognized across Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian and Spanish, with spellings close enough that it travels intact.
- Several long-established short forms, from Ana to Stacy to Nastya, so the child has real choices rather than invented ones.
To consider
- Two pronunciations coexist: an-uh-STAY-zhuh and an-ah-stah-SEE-ah. Both are correct, but she will be asked which one she uses, probably for life.
- Five syllables and nine letters. Forms, teachers and coffee cups will shorten it whether or not the family does.
- The name is closely tied to the Romanov story and the films it produced, and more recently to the heroine of the Fifty Shades novels. Neither association is overwhelming, but both are out there.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Alani and Anastasia 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 Alani and Anastasia?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
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- The names with the most spellings
- all guides
Where Alani and Anastasia each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alani or Anastasia — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alani or Anastasia?
- Alani, in 2025: Alani ranked #161 with 1,843 babies; Anastasia ranked #163 with 1,832 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alani or Anastasia?
- Alani. Over the last five years Alani moved up 60 places; Anastasia moved down 5 places.
- Which is the older name, Alani or Anastasia?
- Alani entered the US charts in 1978; Anastasia was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Anastasia is the older name.
- How many people are named Alani and Anastasia?
- About 18,500 people named Alani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 53,000 people named Anastasia are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alanis or Anastasias in the classroom?
- Alani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Anastasia 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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