Head to head · Girls' names
Alejandra vs Aliana
#604 vs #603 in 2025
Aliana is a whisker ahead (#603 vs #604 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Aliana is climbing the charts fast, Alejandra 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: Alejandra and Aliana 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
- 1900s: Alejandra #1723, Aliana — — Alejandra higher
- 1910s: Alejandra #2835, Aliana — — Alejandra higher
- 1920s: Alejandra #2252, Aliana — — Alejandra higher
- 1930s: Alejandra #2590, Aliana — — Alejandra higher
- 1940s: Alejandra #2553, Aliana — — Alejandra higher
- 1950s: Alejandra #2891, Aliana — — Alejandra higher
- 1960s: Alejandra #1877, Aliana — — Alejandra higher
- 1970s: Alejandra #803, Aliana #9010 — Alejandra higher
- 1980s: Alejandra #413, Aliana #7439 — Alejandra higher
- 1990s: Alejandra #165, Aliana #4277 — Alejandra higher
- 2000s: Alejandra #220, Aliana #1242 — Alejandra higher
- 2010s: Alejandra #432, Aliana #733 — Alejandra higher
- 2020s: Alejandra #577, Aliana #635 — Alejandra higher
Alejandra stood higher in every recorded decade — 13 of 13.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alejandra | Aliana |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | #1723 | — |
| 1910s | #2835 | — |
| 1920s | #2252 | — |
| 1930s | #2590 | — |
| 1940s | #2553 | — |
| 1950s | #2891 | — |
| 1960s | #1877 | — |
| 1970s | #803 | #9010 |
| 1980s | #413 | #7439 |
| 1990s | #165 | #4277 |
| 2000s | #220 | #1242 |
| 2010s | #432 | #733 |
| 2020s | #577 | #635 |
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
Alejandra
defender of men (Greek, through Alexandra)
Alexandra is the feminine of the Greek Alexandros, which joins alexein, 'to defend,' to andros, 'of a man.' Alejandra is the regular Spanish form and pairs with Alejandro.
Alexandros (Greek) → Alexandra (Greek and Latin) → Alejandra (Spanish)
How it traveled
The Greek name spread through every European language on the fame of Alexander the Great, and Spanish gave its feminine the shape Alejandra, matching Alejandro. Its best-known modern bearer is Alejandra Pizarnik (1936-1972), the Argentine poet who lived for several years in Paris and wrote short, exact poems; Octavio Paz wrote the preface to her collection Árbol de Diana.
Aliana
Not established
Aliana has no established origin or meaning of its own. What is documented is the company it keeps: Alina, long used across Poland, Russia and Germany; Eliana, from Hebrew Eliyana, 'my God has answered'; Liana, an Italian short form of Juliana and Emiliana and also the word for a climbing vine; and Alia. Aliana sits among them without a traceable line to any one of them.
Our story of Aliana — where the record runs out
Think of it as a name assembled from parts that were already loved. Ali opens it, the same first two syllables that begin Alina and Alicia.
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
Alejandra
ah-leh-HAHN-drah
Stress on the third syllable. The j is the Spanish throat sound, close to the ch of Scottish loch; English speakers usually soften it to an h.
- Ale — The everyday short form in Spanish-speaking families, said AH-leh.
- Alex — Common in English-speaking settings; shared with Alexandra and Alejandro, so it is used across the whole family of names.
Aliana
ah-lee-AH-nuh
Some families say al-ee-AN-uh, with a flat American 'a' in the third syllable. Both are in use; the Spanish-influenced ah-lee-AH-nuh is the more common.
- Ali — The most common short form; also stands alone as a given name for girls, and separately as the Arabic men's name Ali, which is unrelated.
- Lia — Taken from the middle of the name; a full given name in its own right in Italy and Portugal.
- Ana — The tail end of the name, and one of the most widely used given names in Spanish and Portuguese.
- Lana — An informal reshuffling used within families; also an independent given name in English and Slavic languages.
- Also Ally.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alejandra if you want…
- a name holding steadyAlejandra is holding its place on the charts
Choose Aliana if you want…
- a name on the way upup 108 places on the charts in five years
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Ali, Lia and Ana
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
Alejandra
Strengths
- A standard Spanish name, spelled the same from Mexico to Argentina and Spain.
- Pairs with the English Alexandra, so it moves between languages without needing a second name.
- Two short forms already in wide use, Ale and Alex.
To consider
- English speakers sometimes say the j as in jam; one early correction toward an h usually settles it.
- At four syllables it gets shortened constantly, so expect Ale or Alex to take over in daily use.
- A handful of boys are recorded with this spelling too. In Spanish the final a marks the name as feminine and Alejandro is the boys' form, so a boy given Alejandra will usually be read as a girl on paper.
Aliana
Strengths
- Phonetic: it is spelled the way it sounds, so a stranger reading it aloud will get close on the first try.
- Several ready-made short forms — Ali, Lia, Ana — each of which is already a full name elsewhere.
- The same vowels work in English and Spanish, so it crosses between the two without being re-pronounced.
To consider
- It will be confused with its neighbors. Expect Alina, Eliana, Aliyah and the double-n Alianna to come back at you on forms and roll calls, and expect to spell it out often.
- There are two live pronunciations, ah-lee-AH-nuh and al-ee-AN-uh. Neither is wrong, so you will be correcting people occasionally rather than once.
- If a documented meaning matters to you, this name does not have one. Eliana and Alina do, and either would give you a similar sound with a traceable history behind it.
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 Alejandra and Aliana 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 Alejandra and Aliana?
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 Alejandra and Aliana — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alejandra or Aliana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alejandra or Aliana?
- Aliana, in 2025: Aliana ranked #603 with 487 babies; Alejandra ranked #604 with 486 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alejandra or Aliana?
- Aliana. Over the last five years Alejandra moved down 59 places; Aliana moved up 108 places.
- Which is the older name, Alejandra or Aliana?
- Alejandra entered the US charts in 1900; Aliana entered the US charts in 1979. On the American record, Alejandra is the older name.
- How many people are named Alejandra and Aliana?
- About 53,000 people named Alejandra are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 9,000 people named Aliana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alejandras or Alianas in the classroom?
- Alejandra will almost certainly be the only one in school. Aliana 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 Alejandra, Aliana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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