Head to head · Girls' names
Alexandra vs Ana
#237 vs #245 in 2025
Alexandra is a whisker ahead (#237 vs #245 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Alexandra is stepping back from its peak, Ana is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Ana has the edge.
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, Alexandra leads 4 measures of 6; Ana leads 1.
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: Alexandra —, Ana #756 — Ana higher
- 1890s: Alexandra #1344, Ana #971 — Ana higher
- 1900s: Alexandra #1431, Ana #996 — Ana higher
- 1910s: Alexandra #1163, Ana #1052 — Ana higher
- 1920s: Alexandra #1299, Ana #874 — Ana higher
- 1930s: Alexandra #1152, Ana #794 — Ana higher
- 1940s: Alexandra #735, Ana #704 — Ana higher
- 1950s: Alexandra #745, Ana #459 — Ana higher
- 1960s: Alexandra #573, Ana #331 — Ana higher
- 1970s: Alexandra #332, Ana #234 — Ana higher
- 1980s: Alexandra #126, Ana #180 — Alexandra higher
- 1990s: Alexandra #30, Ana #137 — Alexandra higher
- 2000s: Alexandra #44, Ana #147 — Alexandra higher
- 2010s: Alexandra #98, Ana #219 — Alexandra higher
- 2020s: Alexandra #193, Ana #226 — Alexandra higher
Ana stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Alexandra has held the lead since the 1980s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alexandra | Ana |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #756 |
| 1890s | #1344 | #971 |
| 1900s | #1431 | #996 |
| 1910s | #1163 | #1052 |
| 1920s | #1299 | #874 |
| 1930s | #1152 | #794 |
| 1940s | #735 | #704 |
| 1950s | #745 | #459 |
| 1960s | #573 | #331 |
| 1970s | #332 | #234 |
| 1980s | #126 | #180 |
| 1990s | #30 | #137 |
| 2000s | #44 | #147 |
| 2010s | #98 | #219 |
| 2020s | #193 | #226 |
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
Alexandra
Defender of men
The Greek elements are a verb about defending and the word for men. The reading is not disputed. What is disputed is how old the name is, because a form of it appears in records from a civilization that predates classical Greece.
Alexandros → Alexandra
How it traveled
A Hittite treaty names a king of Wilusa called Alaksandu — a Greek-sounding name on the western edge of Anatolia, in a city most scholars now identify with Troy, several centuries before Homer. Whether that man has anything to do with the Alexandros who appears in the Iliad as another name for Paris is one of the better arguments in Bronze Age history and is not settled.
Ana
Grace
From Hebrew Hannah, 'grace, favor', through Greek and Latin Anna.
Hannah → Anna → Ana
How it traveled
Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Eboli, lost an eye as a girl and wore a patch; she became one of the most powerful figures at the court of Philip II of Spain until, in 1579, he had her arrested over a political intrigue, and she spent the rest of her life confined in her palace at Pastrana. In Angola, Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba negotiated with the Portuguese, was baptized as Ana de Sousa, and then fought them for decades to keep her kingdoms free.
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
Alexandra
al-ig-ZAN-druh
Four syllables with the stress on the third. Every European language stresses it in the same place.
- Alex — The front clipped, unisex and understood everywhere.
- Sasha — The Russian short form, which keeps nothing of the original sound.
- Lexi — Cut from the middle, and a complete name in current American use.
Ana
AH-nuh
Two syllables with the stress on the first; some English speakers say AN-uh.
- Anita — The Spanish pet form.
- Annie — The English pet form.
Who has carried each name
Alexandra
Alexandra Daddario (b. 1986) — The White Lotus Emmy nominee
Alexandra David-Néel (b. 1868) — Explorer who snuck into the forbidden city of Lhasa in 1924
Ana
Ana de Armas (b. 1988) — Knives Out and Blonde star
Ana Ivanovic (b. 1987) — French Open champion
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 Alexandra if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAlexandra is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itAlexandra runs 4 syllables, Ana 2
- a newer arrivalAlexandra entered the US charts in 1894
- a name that feels very nowAlexandra is stepping back from its peak
Choose Ana if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesAna is 2 syllables to Alexandra's 4
- a long American recordAna was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 25% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 80% for Alexandra
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
Alexandra
Strengths
- It is understood in every European language with almost no change of spelling.
- It carries an unusually large set of short forms with very different registers.
- The meaning is settled and strong.
To consider
- It is long, and a short form will do most of the work.
- The spelling is recorded for boys as well, though it belongs overwhelmingly to the girls.
- It has been well used for a long time, so she may not be the only one.
Ana
Strengths
- Short, simple and used across many languages.
- A settled, lovely meaning.
- A long American history.
To consider
- People will write Anna.
- The pronunciation varies between AH-nuh and AN-uh.
- It is common enough that an Ana may share her name at school.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Alexandra
80%chance Alexandra feels dated by 2040
Alexandra is coming down from a big peak (#26 in 1995). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Ana
25%chance Ana feels dated by 2040
Ana peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
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 Alexandra and Ana 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 Alexandra and Ana?
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 these names appear on
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Long and elegant: names with room to breathe
- Names of the '80s and '90s, currently resting
- Generation Z names (born 1997–2012)
- all guides
Where Alexandra and Ana each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alexandra or Ana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alexandra or Ana?
- Alexandra, in 2025: Alexandra ranked #237 with 1,314 babies; Ana ranked #245 with 1,276 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alexandra or Ana?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alexandra moved down 99 places; Ana moved down 1 place.
- Which is the older name, Alexandra or Ana?
- Alexandra entered the US charts in 1894; Ana was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Ana is the older name.
- How many people are named Alexandra and Ana?
- About 240,000 people named Alexandra are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 106,000 people named Ana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alexandras or Anas in the classroom?
- Alexandra will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ana 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 Alexandra, Ana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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