Head to head · Girls' names
Amari vs Laura
#380 vs #379 in 2025
Laura is a whisker ahead (#379 vs #380 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Laura is holding its place on the charts, Amari is stepping back from its peak.
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, Laura leads 5 measures of 6; Amari 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: Amari —, Laura #21 — Laura higher
- 1890s: Amari —, Laura #34 — Laura higher
- 1900s: Amari —, Laura #48 — Laura higher
- 1910s: Amari —, Laura #61 — Laura higher
- 1920s: Amari —, Laura #76 — Laura higher
- 1930s: Amari —, Laura #98 — Laura higher
- 1940s: Amari —, Laura #94 — Laura higher
- 1950s: Amari —, Laura #44 — Laura higher
- 1960s: Amari —, Laura #17 — Laura higher
- 1970s: Amari —, Laura #19 — Laura higher
- 1980s: Amari #8076, Laura #21 — Laura higher
- 1990s: Amari #1918, Laura #53 — Laura higher
- 2000s: Amari #459, Laura #148 — Laura higher
- 2010s: Amari #454, Laura #313 — Laura higher
- 2020s: Amari #327, Laura #368 — Amari higher
Laura stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Amari took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Amari | Laura |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #21 |
| 1890s | — | #34 |
| 1900s | — | #48 |
| 1910s | — | #61 |
| 1920s | — | #76 |
| 1930s | — | #98 |
| 1940s | — | #94 |
| 1950s | — | #44 |
| 1960s | — | #17 |
| 1970s | — | #19 |
| 1980s | #8076 | #21 |
| 1990s | #1918 | #53 |
| 2000s | #459 | #148 |
| 2010s | #454 | #313 |
| 2020s | #327 | #368 |
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
Amari
No single agreed reading; the two strongest are 'immortal, undying' and 'the Lord has spoken'
Three serious roads lead to this sound. Sanskrit amara, 'immortal, undying', gives Punjabi and Hindi Amar and names like Amarjit. Hebrew Amaryah (Amariah), 'the Lord has said', appears in Chronicles and Nehemiah. Arabic supplies Amir, 'prince, commander', and Ammar, 'long-lived'. Amari as it is used in the United States may draw on any of these, and for many families it works simply as a name in its own right, built on a sound pattern already common here.
How it traveled
Amari's documented history in the United States is short and clear: it appeared in the national records within living memory and has climbed gradually rather than in a spike, which is why nearly everyone who carries it is still young. Its sound, though, is much older than its American life.
Laura
laurel
From the Latin laurus, the evergreen tree whose leaves crowned victors and poets. The reading is settled and the name is the plain Latin word with nothing added.
laurus → Laura
How it traveled
That continuity is the unusual thing about it. Most names of its age have gone out of use for a century or two and come back changed, or have been reshaped by one language and borrowed back by another.
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
Amari
uh-MAR-ee
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. Some families say ah-MAH-ree, with a fuller first vowel; both are heard and neither needs correcting.
- Ari — The most common short form, and a full given name on its own for boys and girls alike.
- Mari — Informal, from the second half of the name; also stands alone as a given name in Welsh, Japanese and Scandinavian use.
- Am — Casual, family-level, rarely written down.
- Amar — Used informally by some families, and a complete given name in its own right in South Asia.
Laura
LOR-uh
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Italian and Spanish give the first vowel more length, LAH-oo-rah, and Polish and German say it closer to the Italian.
- Laurie — The everyday form; a standing name of its own for women and men both.
- Lolly — An older affectionate form, used inside families.
- Lala — A reduplicated childhood form; used widely and rarely written.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Amari if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAmari is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itAmari runs 3 syllables, Laura 2
- a newer arrivalAmari entered the US charts in 1980
- a name that feels very nowAmari is stepping back from its peak
Choose Laura if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesLaura is 2 syllables to Amari's 3
- a long American recordLaura was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Amari
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
Amari
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and said the way it looks — most people get it right on the first try, in speech and on paper.
- Works for a boy or a girl with no change of spelling or pronunciation.
- Has real short forms already in use: Ari and Mari, both of which stand alone as names.
To consider
- Most Amaris in the United States are boys, though a real minority are girls. For a daughter, that means forms and rosters will sometimes assume otherwise — easily corrected, but worth knowing in advance.
- It lives close to Amara, Amaris, Amaya and Amir, and people will occasionally reach for one of those instead. Expect a gentle correction now and then rather than a lifelong battle.
- The meaning is genuinely unsettled. If you want one clean answer to give a curious child, you will be choosing between good ones rather than reciting a fact.
Laura
Strengths
- It is spelled identically in at least six European languages.
- The meaning is settled, pleasant and easy to explain to a child.
- Five letters, two syllables, and no ambiguity in the spelling.
To consider
- It is very familiar, so a child may share it with others.
- The first vowel differs noticeably between English and the Romance languages.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of boys, though it reads overwhelmingly as a girl's name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Amari
40%chance Amari feels dated by 2040
Amari sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Laura
12%chance Laura feels dated by 2040
Laura has held the top-100 across 12 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Amari and Laura 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 Amari and Laura?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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
- Names ending in -i
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- all guides
Where Amari and Laura each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Amari or Laura — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Amari or Laura?
- Laura, in 2025: Laura ranked #379 with 805 babies; Amari ranked #380 with 804 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Amari or Laura?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Amari moved down 51 places; Laura moved down 23 places.
- Which is the older name, Amari or Laura?
- Amari entered the US charts in 1980; Laura was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Laura is the older name.
- How many people are named Amari and Laura?
- About 21,000 people named Amari are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 617,000 people named Laura are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Amaris or Lauras in the classroom?
- Amari will almost certainly be the only one in school. Laura 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 Amari, Laura and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap