Head to head · Girls' names
Amirah vs Arlette
#490 vs #494 in 2025
Amirah is a whisker ahead (#490 vs #494 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Amirah is holding its place on the charts, Arlette is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Arlette 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, Amirah leads 4 measures of 6; Arlette 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
- 1910s: Amirah —, Arlette #2948 — Arlette higher
- 1920s: Amirah —, Arlette #1848 — Arlette higher
- 1930s: Amirah —, Arlette #1676 — Arlette higher
- 1940s: Amirah —, Arlette #1629 — Arlette higher
- 1950s: Amirah —, Arlette #1714 — Arlette higher
- 1960s: Amirah —, Arlette #1925 — Arlette higher
- 1970s: Amirah #4979, Arlette #3747 — Arlette higher
- 1980s: Amirah #3195, Arlette #3890 — Amirah higher
- 1990s: Amirah #2006, Arlette #3064 — Amirah higher
- 2000s: Amirah #1121, Arlette #1535 — Amirah higher
- 2010s: Amirah #719, Arlette #1355 — Amirah higher
- 2020s: Amirah #524, Arlette #776 — Amirah higher
Arlette stood higher in 7 of 12 decades; Amirah has held the lead since the 1980s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Amirah | Arlette |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #2948 |
| 1920s | — | #1848 |
| 1930s | — | #1676 |
| 1940s | — | #1629 |
| 1950s | — | #1714 |
| 1960s | — | #1925 |
| 1970s | #4979 | #3747 |
| 1980s | #3195 | #3890 |
| 1990s | #2006 | #3064 |
| 2000s | #1121 | #1535 |
| 2010s | #719 | #1355 |
| 2020s | #524 | #776 |
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
Amirah
princess
Amirah is the feminine of Arabic amīr, "commander, prince," from the root ʾ-m-r, "to command." Worth knowing separately: Hebrew has its own name Amira, usually spelled without the h, connected to words for a sheaf of grain and the top of a tree. Same sound, different road.
amīr (Arabic, "commander, prince") → amīrah ("princess") → Amira → Amirah
How it traveled
The masculine amīr has been a title of rank and command since the earliest centuries of Islamic history — amīr al-muʾminīn, Commander of the Faithful, was borne by caliphs from the seventh century onward — and amīrah is its feminine, the ordinary Arabic word for a princess. As a given name it is used across the Arabic-speaking world and far beyond it, including widely in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Arlette
Not established
The -ette part is not in doubt: it is the French diminutive suffix, the same one in Annette and Odette. The base is where scholars part ways — some read the Germanic element erl, 'nobleman', others hari, 'army'. Either way, the name reaches us as an affectionate small form of something older, and no single translation is agreed.
How it traveled
Arlette grew up in French, built the way French built dozens of women's names: an old Germanic stem clipped short and softened with -ette. French and Norman tradition attached the name to Herleva, the woman of Falaise who was the mother of William the Conqueror, which gives the name a medieval anchor even though the form itself belongs to later French.
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
Amirah
ah-MEE-rah
The final h is silent — it marks the Arabic feminine ending rather than a sound. In American English you will also hear uh-MEER-uh, with the last syllable softened; both are in ordinary use, so it is worth deciding early which one your family says.
- Mira — The most common short form in English, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Amy — Informal, drawn from the first syllable; also stands alone as a given name familiar to every generation in the US.
- Mimi — Family nickname, usually from the middle syllable rather than the spelling.
- Ami — Informal shortening used within families; spelled Amy, Ami or Amie depending on household preference.
Arlette
ar-LET
Two syllables, stress on the second, final -e silent — as in Colette. Spanish-speaking families say it much the same way, with a lighter r. Occasionally heard as AR-let in English, with the stress pulled forward.
- Arly — The most common informal short form in English-speaking use.
- Arlie — Same sound, alternative spelling; also used on its own as a given name for boys and girls.
- Ari — Informal, popular with younger speakers; shared with Ariana, Arianna and Aria.
- Letty — Takes the second half instead of the first; a long-standing short form of Letitia too, so it may need explaining.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Amirah if you want…
- a name holding steadyAmirah is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itAmirah runs 3 syllables, Arlette 2
Choose Arlette if you want…
- a name on the way upup 557 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesArlette is 2 syllables to Amirah's 3
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
Amirah
Strengths
- The meaning is transparent to Arabic speakers worldwide — no explaining needed across a very large part of the globe.
- Ready-made short forms that already exist as names on their own: Mira, Amy.
- Used across Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, Bosnian and Swahili-speaking communities, so it travels without being reshaped.
To consider
- Amirah and Amira compete as spellings, and neither is rare. Expect to spell it out, and expect the h to be dropped by people writing it down quickly.
- It sits in a crowded sound-neighborhood with Amira, Amina, Amara, Amaya and Samira. Mix-ups are more likely than mispronunciations.
- The name is centuries old, but its American wave is recent — most people carrying this spelling here are still young, so US namesakes of an older generation are few. Elsewhere it has a much longer local history.
Arlette
Strengths
- Fits a spelling pattern Americans already read correctly: Colette, Juliette, Yvette. Most people get it right on the first attempt.
- Works in French, Spanish and Portuguese with barely a change, which matters in a bilingual family.
- Has ready-made short forms at both ends — Arly at the front, Letty at the back — without needing to be invented.
To consider
- It sits very close to Arlene, Arletta and Arlet, and gets mixed up with all three. Expect to spell it out — one l, two t's — over the phone for life.
- Currently gaining ground. A child named Arlette now will likely meet more Arlettes as she grows up than the present figures suggest.
- The -ette suffix was at its most fashionable in an earlier era of French names, so to some ears Arlette reads retro rather than new. That cuts both ways: it is also why it sounds settled rather than made-up.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Amirah
40%chance Amirah feels dated by 2040
Amirah 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.
Arlette
58%chance Arlette feels dated by 2040
Arlette is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
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 Amirah and Arlette 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 Amirah and Arlette?
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.
Amirah or Arlette — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Amirah or Arlette?
- Amirah, in 2025: Amirah ranked #490 with 603 babies; Arlette ranked #494 with 600 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Amirah or Arlette?
- Arlette. Over the last five years Amirah moved up 55 places; Arlette moved up 557 places.
- Which is the older name, Amirah or Arlette?
- Amirah entered the US charts in 1976; Arlette entered the US charts in 1913. On the American record, Arlette is the older name.
- How many people are named Amirah and Arlette?
- About 11,000 people named Amirah are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,400 people named Arlette are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Amirahs or Arlettes in the classroom?
- Amirah will almost certainly be the only one in school. Arlette 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 Amirah, Arlette 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