Head to head · Girls' names
Alondra vs Amani
#680 vs #678 in 2025 · Latin vs Arabic roots
Amani is a whisker ahead (#678 vs #680 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Amani is holding its place on the charts, Alondra is stepping back from its peak.
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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, Alondra leads 3 measures of 6; Amani 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
- 1950s: Alondra #4625, Amani — — Alondra higher
- 1960s: Alondra #4729, Amani #6617 — Alondra higher
- 1970s: Alondra #4385, Amani #5689 — Alondra higher
- 1980s: Alondra #1980, Amani #4295 — Alondra higher
- 1990s: Alondra #696, Amani #1273 — Alondra higher
- 2000s: Alondra #175, Amani #659 — Alondra higher
- 2010s: Alondra #354, Amani #657 — Alondra higher
- 2020s: Alondra #557, Amani #644 — Alondra higher
Alondra stood higher in every recorded decade — 8 of 8.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alondra | Amani |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | #4625 | — |
| 1960s | #4729 | #6617 |
| 1970s | #4385 | #5689 |
| 1980s | #1980 | #4295 |
| 1990s | #696 | #1273 |
| 2000s | #175 | #659 |
| 2010s | #354 | #657 |
| 2020s | #557 | #644 |
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
Alondra
Lark (the songbird)
Spanish *alondra* is the everyday word for the bird. The word itself came into Spanish through Old French and Old Occitan from Latin *alauda*, which Roman writers noted was borrowed from Gaulish.
alauda (Latin, from Gaulish) → alauza / aloe (Old Occitan, Old French) → alondra (Spanish word for lark) → Alondra (given name)
How it traveled
Alondra belongs to the large Spanish tradition of naming girls straight from a beautiful common noun — the same road that gives Paloma (dove), Luz (light) and Estrella (star). The word traveled a long way before it became a name: Latin *alauda*, itself taken from Gaulish, passed into Old Occitan and Old French and reached Spanish as *alondra*.
Amani
"Peace" in Swahili; "wishes, aspirations" in Arabic
Swahili amani means peace or calm, borrowed long ago from Arabic amān, "safety, security." Separately, Arabic أماني (amānī) is the plural of umniya, "a wish" — a long-established feminine name in Arabic-speaking countries. Both readings are solid in their own languages; which one a family means depends on where the name reached them. The shared root ʼ-m-n, carrying the sense of trust and security, sits under both.
amān (Arabic, "safety") → amani (Swahili, "peace") → Amani
How it traveled
The root behind Amani is one of the busiest in Arabic: ʼ-m-n, from which come words for faith, safety and trust, and names such as Iman and Amina. Arabic amān, "security," passed along the Indian Ocean trade routes into Swahili, where it settled as amani, the ordinary word used for peace along the East African coast — the word in the Swahili greeting and in political slogans alike.
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
Alondra
ah-LON-drah
Stress on the middle syllable in both Spanish and English. In Spanish the r is a single quick tap and the final a is full; English speakers often soften it to uh-LAHN-druh, which Spanish-speaking relatives will recognize without trouble.
- Alondrita — The standard Spanish diminutive, formed with -ita; affectionate, used mostly within the family.
- Alo — Short, informal clipping of the first syllable.
- Ali — Informal; also stands alone as a given name and shared with Alicia, Alison and Alexandra.
- Loni — Informal, taken from the middle of the name; less common than the others.
Amani
ah-MAH-nee
Stress on the middle syllable in both Swahili and Arabic. Some American speakers say uh-MAH-nee with a lighter first vowel; both are widely accepted. The main mishearing is Armani, the Italian surname and fashion label, so the name is sometimes repeated once on the phone.
- Mani — The most common informal clip in English-speaking use; also stands alone as a given name in several languages.
- Ami — Family shortening from the front of the name; overlaps with Amy in speech.
- Nani — Affectionate, mostly used by close family and by younger children who cannot manage the full four syllables.
- Ama — Occasional informal short form; a given name in its own right in parts of West Africa.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Alondra if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAlondra is stepping back from its peak
Choose Amani if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Amani from Alondra.
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
Alondra
Strengths
- The meaning is not buried in etymology — any Spanish speaker hears 'lark' immediately, while the name still reads as a name rather than a word.
- Spelled the way it sounds in both Spanish and English, with no silent letters or competing spellings to correct.
- Crosses between Spanish and English with only a small shift in the r and the final vowel.
To consider
- Outside Spanish-speaking regions it is often heard as Alandra, Alondria or Alexandra on a first introduction, so expect some spelling out over the phone.
- Most people carrying it in the US were born within a fairly narrow stretch of decades, so for now it reads as belonging to a particular generation rather than as an heirloom name.
- She is unlikely to share it with a classmate — good for standing apart, less good on the day she wants a keychain with her name on it.
Amani
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and read correctly by most English speakers on sight, with no silent letters and no competing spellings to correct.
- A real, current word for peace in Swahili — a meaning that can be explained in three words to a child or a stranger.
- At home in Arabic, Swahili and English alike, which matters in a family that spans more than one of them.
To consider
- Imani is considerably more familiar in the US, and Amani gets corrected to it fairly often — in email, on rosters, by teachers reading a list aloud. One extra beat of clarification, for life.
- The name is given to boys as well as girls, particularly in Arabic- and Swahili-speaking communities and in American sports; a girl named Amani will occasionally be assumed male on paper.
- Armani is the closest sound-alike in American ears, so expect the label joke once or twice in the school years.
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 Alondra and Amani in full.
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Decide together
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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
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Borrowed from the boys: names girls are winning
- African names with radiant meanings
- all guides
Where Alondra and Amani each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alondra or Amani — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alondra or Amani?
- Amani, in 2025: Amani ranked #678 with 419 babies; Alondra ranked #680 with 417 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alondra or Amani?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alondra moved down 160 places; Amani moved down 19 places.
- Which is the older name, Alondra or Amani?
- Alondra entered the US charts in 1959; Amani entered the US charts in 1969. On the American record, Alondra is the older name.
- How many people are named Alondra and Amani?
- About 42,000 people named Alondra are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 13,500 people named Amani are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Alondras or Amanis in the classroom?
- Alondra will almost certainly be the only one in school. Amani 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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