Head to head · Boys' names
Anakin vs Azael
#648 vs #645 in 2025
Azael is a whisker ahead (#645 vs #648 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Azael is climbing the charts fast, Anakin is holding its place on the charts.
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, Azael leads 4 measures of 6; Anakin 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
- 1970s: Anakin —, Azael #5845 — Azael higher
- 1980s: Anakin —, Azael #5607 — Azael higher
- 1990s: Anakin #5091, Azael #3989 — Azael higher
- 2000s: Anakin #1576, Azael #2077 — Anakin higher
- 2010s: Anakin #1096, Azael #1564 — Anakin higher
- 2020s: Anakin #622, Azael #822 — Anakin higher
The decades split evenly, 3 each; Anakin has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Anakin | Azael |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | — | #5845 |
| 1980s | — | #5607 |
| 1990s | #5091 | #3989 |
| 2000s | #1576 | #2077 |
| 2010s | #1096 | #1564 |
| 2020s | #622 | #822 |
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
Anakin
Not established
Anakin was coined for fiction, not inherited from a language, so it has no translation to give. What is documented is its author and its date: George Lucas wrote it into Star Wars, first heard on screen in 1977, and the films themselves never offer a meaning for it.
How it traveled
The name belongs to George Lucas, who put it in the mouth of Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977 and left it unexplained for two decades. When the prequel trilogy opened in 1999 with The Phantom Menace, Anakin became a nine-year-old boy on a desert planet, and the name moved from a line of dialogue to a character parents had watched grow up.
Azael
contains Hebrew el, "God"; the first element is disputed
Two biblical names arrive at this spelling. Hazael (Ḥaza'el), the king of Aram in the Book of Kings, is read as "God has seen" or "God beholds"; Asahel (Asah'el), Joab's brother in the Book of Samuel, appears in Spanish Bibles as Asael and is read as "God has made". The -el is certain in both; which name a given family means is often the family's own answer.
Ḥaza'el (Hebrew) → Ἀζαήλ / Azaēl (Greek) → Azael (Spanish)
How it traveled
The name belongs to the large family of Hebrew names built on el, "God", and comes into modern use through scripture rather than through any single famous bearer. The Greek Septuagint spelling Ἀζαήλ, and the closely related Asael, passed into Latin and then into Spanish Bibles, where both forms stayed readable and pronounceable for ordinary speakers.
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
Anakin
AN-uh-kin
First syllable like the word "an", stress on it, and the ending rhymes with "kin". The films fixed this pronunciation for English speakers, so it rarely needs explaining twice.
- Ani — The short form used inside the films by the character's mother and by Padmé; the one most people reach for first, and it doubles as an affectionate family form.
- Kin — A one-syllable clip from the end of the name, used informally.
Azael
ah-sah-EL
In Spanish the stress falls on the final syllable and the z is said like an s: ah-sah-EL. English speakers commonly say AY-zayl or ah-ZAY-el. Both are heard in the US, so it helps to decide early which one you will correct people toward.
- Aza — Informal, family-level shortening; not an established given name in its own right.
- Zael — Informal, drawn from the stressed end of the name; occasionally used as a nickname among peers.
- Az — Very short and casual, mostly among friends and siblings rather than adults.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Anakin if you want…
- a name holding steadyAnakin is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itAnakin runs 3 syllables, Azael 2
Choose Azael if you want…
- a name on the way upup 485 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesAzael is 2 syllables to Anakin'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
Anakin
Strengths
- Almost everyone can spell it on first hearing, which is unusual for a name this uncommon — the films did the teaching.
- One settled pronunciation across English, with no regional variants to correct.
- A ready-made short form, Ani, already used affectionately within the story the name comes from.
To consider
- The name is tied to one character and no one else, and that character's story is his fall — he becomes Darth Vader. Anyone who knows the films knows the whole arc, and some will say so out loud.
- Ani is pronounced AH-nee in the films, which sounds like Annie and can lead to a gender mix-up over the phone or on a roster.
- Because it comes from a single source, expect the same conversation about it fairly often, at school and later on job applications. Some families find that easy; it is worth picturing in advance.
Azael
Strengths
- Ends in the same -el as Miguel, Daniel, Gabriel and Ismael, so the shape is instantly readable to Spanish-speaking families.
- Spelled the way it sounds in Spanish, with no silent letters and no accent mark to lose in forms and databases.
- Carries a biblical line reaching back to the Hebrew scriptures and their Greek translation, with a documented written form.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate — ah-sah-EL and AY-zayl — and he will spend a fair amount of his life offering the one he prefers. Neither is wrong; it just becomes a small routine.
- The spelling sits close to Asael, Hazael and Azazel, the last of which is a demon in the Book of Enoch and a Marvel villain. Expect an occasional mix-up or an offhand comment, more likely from adults than from children.
- Because its use here is recent and thin, he is unlikely to meet another. That means no ready-made nickname either — whatever the family lands on will be the family's own invention.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Anakin
40%chance Anakin feels dated by 2040
Anakin 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.
Azael
56%chance Azael feels dated by 2040
Azael 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 Anakin and Azael 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 Anakin and Azael?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Anakin and Azael — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Anakin or Azael — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Anakin or Azael?
- Azael, in 2025: Azael ranked #645 with 432 babies; Anakin ranked #648 with 427 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Anakin or Azael?
- Azael. Over the last five years Anakin moved up 54 places; Azael moved up 485 places.
- Which is the older name, Anakin or Azael?
- Anakin entered the US charts in 1995; Azael entered the US charts in 1977. On the American record, Azael is the older name.
- How many people are named Anakin and Azael?
- About 5,800 people named Anakin are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 3,900 people named Azael are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Anakins or Azaels in the classroom?
- Anakin will almost certainly be the only one in school. Azael 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 Anakin, Azael 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