Head to head · Boys' names
Amir vs Austin
#105 vs #113 in 2025
Amir is a whisker ahead (#105 vs #113 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Amir is holding its place on the charts, Austin 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
The tape is even: Amir and Austin 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
- 1880s: Amir —, Austin #206 — Austin higher
- 1890s: Amir —, Austin #225 — Austin higher
- 1900s: Amir —, Austin #231 — Austin higher
- 1910s: Amir —, Austin #241 — Austin higher
- 1920s: Amir —, Austin #273 — Austin higher
- 1930s: Amir —, Austin #341 — Austin higher
- 1940s: Amir —, Austin #397 — Austin higher
- 1950s: Amir #3666, Austin #492 — Austin higher
- 1960s: Amir #2488, Austin #544 — Austin higher
- 1970s: Amir #1105, Austin #390 — Austin higher
- 1980s: Amir #668, Austin #118 — Austin higher
- 1990s: Amir #553, Austin #24 — Austin higher
- 2000s: Amir #340, Austin #39 — Austin higher
- 2010s: Amir #199, Austin #70 — Austin higher
- 2020s: Amir #109, Austin #103 — Austin higher
Austin stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Amir | Austin |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #206 |
| 1890s | — | #225 |
| 1900s | — | #231 |
| 1910s | — | #241 |
| 1920s | — | #273 |
| 1930s | — | #341 |
| 1940s | — | #397 |
| 1950s | #3666 | #492 |
| 1960s | #2488 | #544 |
| 1970s | #1105 | #390 |
| 1980s | #668 | #118 |
| 1990s | #553 | #24 |
| 2000s | #340 | #39 |
| 2010s | #199 | #70 |
| 2020s | #109 | #103 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Amir
- France#56
Austin
- Canada#49
- England & Wales#88
- Scotland#92
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Amir
prince, commander (Arabic)
The Arabic amīr comes from a root meaning to command or to order. A separate Hebrew name spelled the same way, Amir, means the crown or top of a tree, and also a sheaf of cut grain — so the same four letters reach children by two unrelated roads, depending on the family.
amīr (Arabic: one who commands) → Amīr → Emir (Turkish) → Amir
How it traveled
The Arabic amīr began as a word for one who commands, and it became a formal title across the Islamic world — most famously in amīr al-muʼminīn, commander of the faithful, borne by caliphs from the seventh century onward. " Independently, Hebrew has its own Amir, a nature word for the top of a tree, in use as a modern given name in Israel.
Austin
great, venerable — via Augustine, from Latin Augustus
Austin is a contracted form of Augustine (Latin Augustinus), itself built on Augustus, the honorific title meaning 'venerable' or 'majestic'.
Augustus → Augustinus → Augustine → Austin
How it traveled
The Latin name Augustinus, formed from the imperial title Augustus, came into English as Augustine and was quickly worn down in speech to Austin — the same way Augustinian friars in England became the Austin Friars. Because it was so common in the medieval period, it hardened into a surname, and it was as a surname that it crossed the Atlantic and attached itself to places, most famously the capital of Texas, named for an early Anglo colonist.
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
Amir
ah-MEER
The stress falls on the second syllable in Arabic, Hebrew and Persian alike. In American English you will also hear uh-MEER, and occasionally a front-stressed AH-mir from people guessing at the spelling — worth saying it aloud once at introductions.
- Ami — Informal short form used within families; also stands alone as a given name in Hebrew and in several European languages.
- Mir — Clipped informal form, more common among friends and siblings than in adult use.
Austin
AW-stin
Two syllables, stress on the first. No regional disagreement worth worrying about in English.
- Aus — The most common clipping, used among friends and family rather than on paper.
- Auggie — Borrowed from the Augustine side of the family tree; also stands alone as a nickname for August.
- Ozzie — An occasional playful reshaping of the opening sound; more often belongs to Oscar or Oswald.
Who has carried each name
Amir
No documented entry for Amir yet.
Austin
Austin Butler (b. 1991) — Oscar-nominated for playing Elvis
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 Amir if you want…
- a name on the way upup 12 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalAmir entered the US charts in 1954
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 83% for Austin
Choose Austin if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAustin is stepping back from its peak
- a name that charts abroad tooAustin is on the national lists of Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
- a long American recordAustin was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that feels very nowAustin is stepping back from its peak
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
Amir
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and readable at first sight for most English speakers, with no silent letters to explain.
- Works as a native name across Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Malay, Bosnian and Hebrew-speaking communities.
- Also charts in France, so it travels without becoming a foreign object.
To consider
- Ameer, Amer and the Turkish Emir are all in circulation, and Amari and Amira are close neighbors in sound — expect to spell it aloud and to correct the occasional wrong form.
- The meaning is a live word, not a faded one: Arabic speakers hear "prince" or "commander" straight away, which some families love and others find a lot to carry.
- Because two separate names — Arabic and Hebrew — meet at this spelling, people will sometimes assume a background your family may not have. A one-line answer usually settles it.
Austin
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation match: almost no American needs it repeated or explained.
- A documented line back through medieval English Augustine to Latin Augustinus — an unbroken record of many centuries.
- Charts in Canada, England and Wales, and Scotland as well as the US, so it travels across English-speaking countries without translation.
To consider
- It has a strong generational signature: most Austins alive today are adults in their twenties, so a baby now will share the name mainly with grown-ups rather than classmates.
- The Texas city is the first association for many Americans, which some families like and others would rather avoid.
- Austen and Austyn both exist, so a child will occasionally have the spelling checked — a minor, lifelong correction rather than a real problem.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Amir
40%chance Amir feels dated by 2040
Amir 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.
Austin
83%chance Austin feels dated by 2040
Austin is coming down from a big peak (#9 in 1996). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Amir and Austin 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 Amir and Austin?
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 Amir and Austin — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Amir or Austin — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Amir or Austin?
- Amir, in 2025: Amir ranked #105 with 3,297 babies; Austin ranked #113 with 3,103 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Amir or Austin?
- Amir. Over the last five years Amir moved up 12 places; Austin moved down 25 places.
- Which is the older name, Amir or Austin?
- Amir entered the US charts in 1954; Austin was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Austin is the older name.
- How many people are named Amir and Austin?
- About 55,000 people named Amir are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 415,000 people named Austin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Amirs or Austins in the classroom?
- Amir will almost certainly be the only one in school. Austin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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