Head to head · Girls' names
Alena vs Angie
#707 vs #705 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Angie is a whisker ahead (#705 vs #707 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, Angie leads 5 measures of 6; Alena leads 0.
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: Alena —, Angie #310 — Angie higher
- 1890s: Alena #1296, Angie #380 — Angie higher
- 1900s: Alena #1702, Angie #435 — Angie higher
- 1910s: Alena #2016, Angie #446 — Angie higher
- 1920s: Alena #2185, Angie #479 — Angie higher
- 1930s: Alena #2536, Angie #449 — Angie higher
- 1940s: Alena #2942, Angie #507 — Angie higher
- 1950s: Alena #2648, Angie #493 — Angie higher
- 1960s: Alena #1798, Angie #241 — Angie higher
- 1970s: Alena #1307, Angie #205 — Angie higher
- 1980s: Alena #1122, Angie #432 — Angie higher
- 1990s: Alena #924, Angie #632 — Angie higher
- 2000s: Alena #694, Angie #380 — Angie higher
- 2010s: Alena #689, Angie #571 — Angie higher
- 2020s: Alena #745, Angie #690 — Angie higher
Angie stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alena | Angie |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #310 |
| 1890s | #1296 | #380 |
| 1900s | #1702 | #435 |
| 1910s | #2016 | #446 |
| 1920s | #2185 | #479 |
| 1930s | #2536 | #449 |
| 1940s | #2942 | #507 |
| 1950s | #2648 | #493 |
| 1960s | #1798 | #241 |
| 1970s | #1307 | #205 |
| 1980s | #1122 | #432 |
| 1990s | #924 | #632 |
| 2000s | #694 | #380 |
| 2010s | #689 | #571 |
| 2020s | #745 | #690 |
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
Alena
from Helen — a Greek name whose sense was never settled
Alena descends from Helena (and in some families from Magdalena, 'of Magdala', a village on the Sea of Galilee). The Helena line is clear; what Helenē itself meant in early Greek is not. The oldest serious readings link it to helenē, a word for a torch or basket, and to a root for shining or sunlight; neither has won. Greek naming of that era rarely left an explanation behind.
Helenē → Helena → Elena → Alena
How it traveled
Helenē belonged to Greek myth long before it belonged to churches, and Latin turned it into Helena, which the Roman world carried north and east. In the Slavic languages the initial H fell away and the vowels opened: Elena in the south, Alena in Czech and Slovak lands, Alyona in Russian and Belarusian speech, where it began as a familiar form of Yelena and then stood up on its own.
Angie
messenger; angel
Angie belongs to the family of Angela, from Greek angelos, 'messenger', which passed into church Latin as angelus and came to mean 'angel'.
angelos (Greek) → angelus (Latin) → Angela → Angelina / Angelica → Angie
How it traveled
The root is the Greek angelos, a messenger — the ordinary word for someone carrying news, which the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible used for divine messengers. Latin took it as angelus, and the feminine Angela spread through Catholic Europe, joined by Angelina and Angelica.
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
Alena
uh-LAY-nuh
Two pronunciations circulate in the US and both are correct: uh-LAY-nuh follows English habits, while ah-LEH-nuh is the Czech, Slovak and Russian version, with the stress on a short middle vowel. Families usually pick one and hold to it.
- Lena — The most common short form across languages, and a fully established given name in its own right.
- Allie / Ally — The usual English-language clip, informal, shared with Allison and Alexandra.
- Alenka — The standard affectionate diminutive in Czech, Slovak and Slovene; used at home rather than on documents.
- Lenka — Czech and Slovak diminutive that also stands alone as an official given name there.
- Also Ali, Nena.
Angie
AN-jee
Soft g, as in angel. Occasionally misread with a hard g, as in angle, by someone seeing it written before hearing it.
- Ang — Informal clipping, common among family and close friends; rarely written down.
- Ange — Used chiefly in British and Australian speech, for both Angie and Angela.
- Angie — Itself the standard short form of Angela, Angelina and Angelica, and long established as a full given name too.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alena if you want…
- a name with more sound in itAlena runs 3 syllables, Angie 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Lena, Allie / Ally and Alenka
- a newer arrivalAlena entered the US charts in 1891
Choose Angie if you want…
- a name holding steadyAngie is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesAngie is 2 syllables to Alena's 3
- a long American recordAngie 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
Alena
Strengths
- Spelled phonetically for English readers — six letters, no silent parts, and most people write it correctly on the second try.
- Carries ready-made short forms in real use, from Lena to Allie, so the child has choices without inventing any.
- Recognized across Czech, Slovak, Russian, Belarusian and German-speaking regions, and close enough to Elena and Helena to be understood almost anywhere.
To consider
- The pronunciation genuinely splits — uh-LAY-nuh and ah-LEH-nuh both belong to the name. Expect a lifetime of gentle correcting, or a decision to answer to either.
- It sits in a crowded neighborhood of near-twins: Alaina, Aleena, Alina, Elena, Elaina. Spoken aloud over the phone, it will often need to be spelled out.
- Because Lena and Allie are shared with several other names, the short form on its own will not always point back to Alena.
Angie
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds for most English speakers, and already familiar in writing — little need to repeat it letter by letter.
- Works either as a full name or as the short form of Angela, Angelina or Angelica, so a longer formal version is available if you want one.
- On the American record continuously since national name records began, without ever dropping out of use.
To consider
- Because it began as a nickname, some people will assume there is a longer name behind it and ask what Angie is short for. That is easy to answer, but it will come up.
- It is far better represented among adults than among children right now — a child named Angie will likely be the only one in her school while meeting grown women who share it.
- The Rolling Stones ballad follows the name around, so expect it to be sung at her occasionally by people old enough to remember the record.
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 Alena and Angie 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 Alena and Angie?
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.
Alena or Angie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alena or Angie?
- Angie, in 2025: Angie ranked #705 with 399 babies; Alena ranked #707 with 398 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alena or Angie?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alena moved down 28 places; Angie moved down 52 places.
- Which is the older name, Alena or Angie?
- Alena entered the US charts in 1891; Angie was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Angie is the older name.
- How many people are named Alena and Angie?
- About 15,000 people named Alena are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 55,500 people named Angie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alenas or Angies in the classroom?
- Alena will almost certainly be the only one in school. Angie 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 Alena, Angie and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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