Head to head · Boys' names
Anderson vs Onyx
#363 vs #365 in 2025
Anderson is a whisker ahead (#363 vs #365 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Anderson is stepping back from its peak, Onyx is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Onyx 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, Anderson leads 5 measures of 6; Onyx leads 1.
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: Anderson #254, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1890s: Anderson #279, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1900s: Anderson #325, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1910s: Anderson #458, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1920s: Anderson #528, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1930s: Anderson #594, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1940s: Anderson #628, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1950s: Anderson #714, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1960s: Anderson #871, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1970s: Anderson #969, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1980s: Anderson #971, Onyx — — Anderson higher
- 1990s: Anderson #837, Onyx #5665 — Anderson higher
- 2000s: Anderson #526, Onyx #3722 — Anderson higher
- 2010s: Anderson #301, Onyx #1498 — Anderson higher
- 2020s: Anderson #337, Onyx #400 — Anderson higher
Anderson stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Anderson | Onyx |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #254 | — |
| 1890s | #279 | — |
| 1900s | #325 | — |
| 1910s | #458 | — |
| 1920s | #528 | — |
| 1930s | #594 | — |
| 1940s | #628 | — |
| 1950s | #714 | — |
| 1960s | #871 | — |
| 1970s | #969 | — |
| 1980s | #971 | — |
| 1990s | #837 | #5665 |
| 2000s | #526 | #3722 |
| 2010s | #301 | #1498 |
| 2020s | #337 | #400 |
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
Anderson
son of Anders (Andrew) — ultimately from Greek 'man'
Anders is the Scandinavian form of Andreas, which comes from Greek anēr, andros, 'man'. The -son is the plain patronymic ending shared with Johnson, Jackson and Robertson.
Andreas → Andrew → Anders → Anderson
How it traveled
Andrew, the apostle, became the patron saint of Scotland, and his name spread through Scotland and Scandinavia so widely that patronymics built on it turned into permanent surnames: Anderson in Scotland and northern England, Andersson in Sweden, Andersen in Denmark and Norway. Scots and Scandinavian emigration carried all three spellings to North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where Anderson became one of the most frequently borne surnames in the country.
Onyx
Claw or fingernail — by way of the banded stone
The Greek ónyx meant nail or claw; the veined stone took the word because its layers resembled a fingernail. In modern use the name reads simply as the gemstone, most familiar in its black form.
ónyx (Greek) → onyx (Latin) → onyx (English, the stone) → Onyx (given name)
How it traveled
The word begins in ancient Greek as ónyx, nail or claw, and became the name of a banded chalcedony whose pale layers looked like a fingernail. Latin took it unchanged, and English translations of the Hebrew Bible put it among the precious things of Genesis and the stones set into the high priest's breastplate, which kept it in circulation for centuries as a word people read aloud.
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
Anderson
AN-der-sun
Three syllables, stress on the first. The middle syllable often flattens in fast American speech to something closer to AN-dur-sun. No competing pronunciations to explain to anyone.
- Andy — The everyday informal short form; also given on its own, and long attached to Andrew, so it may prompt the question of which name it stands for.
- Anders — A full given name in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and a clean semi-formal clipping in English.
- Ander — A shorter clipping; also a Basque given name in its own right.
- Sonny — Informal, family-level, drawn from the final syllable rather than from any tradition.
Onyx
ON-iks
Stress on the first syllable, the x sounded as -ks. The pronunciation is fixed by the ordinary English word, so it rarely needs repeating.
- Nyx — Informal clipping; also used on its own as a given name, after the Greek goddess of night.
- Nix — Informal, phonetic version of the same clipping.
- O — Family-and-friends level, the way any O name gets reduced to its initial.
- Ony — Informal, mostly used by adults to a young child.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Anderson if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAnderson is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itAnderson runs 3 syllables, Onyx 2
- a long American recordAnderson was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Onyx if you want…
- a name on the way upup 247 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesOnyx is 2 syllables to Anderson's 3
- a newer arrivalOnyx entered the US charts in 1990
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
Anderson
Strengths
- A spelling almost everyone in the US already knows from surnames, so it rarely needs to be spelled out twice.
- Two established short forms, Andy and Anders, one informal and one usable as a full name.
- Recognizable across Scottish, English and Scandinavian settings, where the Andersson and Andersen spellings are household-common.
To consider
- The -son ending means, literally, 'son of'. For a girl it works exactly as Madison and Addison do — as a surname, not a statement — but it is worth knowing that the etymology says son.
- It will sometimes be read as a last name on forms and rosters, and a first-name-last-name mix-up is a lifelong small nuisance rather than a real problem.
- Many families already have Andersons among their in-laws, neighbors or classmates' surnames, so the name can feel doubled up in some circles.
Onyx
Strengths
- Everyone already knows the word, so the pronunciation almost never needs explaining.
- Two clean syllables that sit easily against most surnames and don't blur into the name beside them.
- Spelled and said much the same in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German.
To consider
- The spelling has rivals. Ónix, Onix and Onex all exist in the wild, and one of them belongs to a widely known video-game creature, so expect to spell it out on forms for life.
- It leans male in American records, with a real minority of girls. A girl named Onyx will meet the occasional wrong assumption before people see her.
- This is a very young name, so most people carrying it are children. An adult Onyx is still an unusual thing, and a child will likely be the only one in the school.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Anderson
40%chance Anderson feels dated by 2040
Anderson 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.
Onyx
55%chance Onyx feels dated by 2040
Onyx 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 Anderson and Onyx 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 Anderson and Onyx?
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 Anderson and Onyx — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Anderson or Onyx — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Anderson or Onyx?
- Anderson, in 2025: Anderson ranked #363 with 898 babies; Onyx ranked #365 with 881 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Anderson or Onyx?
- Onyx. Over the last five years Anderson moved down 57 places; Onyx moved up 247 places.
- Which is the older name, Anderson or Onyx?
- Anderson was already in use when US records began in 1880; Onyx entered the US charts in 1990. On the American record, Anderson is the older name.
- How many people are named Anderson and Onyx?
- About 28,000 people named Anderson are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 6,800 people named Onyx are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Andersons or Onyxs in the classroom?
- Anderson will almost certainly be the only one in school. Onyx 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 Anderson, Onyx and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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