Head to head · Boys' names
Andy vs Garrett
#565 vs #564 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Garrett is a whisker ahead (#564 vs #565 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Garrett leads 4 measures of 6; Andy 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: Andy #224, Garrett #533 — Andy higher
- 1890s: Andy #249, Garrett #452 — Andy higher
- 1900s: Andy #294, Garrett #604 — Andy higher
- 1910s: Andy #315, Garrett #712 — Andy higher
- 1920s: Andy #349, Garrett #736 — Andy higher
- 1930s: Andy #361, Garrett #725 — Andy higher
- 1940s: Andy #328, Garrett #553 — Andy higher
- 1950s: Andy #292, Garrett #549 — Andy higher
- 1960s: Andy #214, Garrett #458 — Andy higher
- 1970s: Andy #236, Garrett #299 — Andy higher
- 1980s: Andy #264, Garrett #145 — Garrett higher
- 1990s: Andy #243, Garrett #85 — Garrett higher
- 2000s: Andy #209, Garrett #124 — Garrett higher
- 2010s: Andy #314, Garrett #263 — Garrett higher
- 2020s: Andy #479, Garrett #472 — Garrett higher
Andy stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Garrett has held the lead since the 1980s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Andy | Garrett |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #224 | #533 |
| 1890s | #249 | #452 |
| 1900s | #294 | #604 |
| 1910s | #315 | #712 |
| 1920s | #349 | #736 |
| 1930s | #361 | #725 |
| 1940s | #328 | #553 |
| 1950s | #292 | #549 |
| 1960s | #214 | #458 |
| 1970s | #236 | #299 |
| 1980s | #264 | #145 |
| 1990s | #243 | #85 |
| 2000s | #209 | #124 |
| 2010s | #314 | #263 |
| 2020s | #479 | #472 |
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
Andy
man, manly
Through Andrew, from Greek Andreas, built on the stem andr- meaning "man" — the same root behind words like polyandry.
Andreas → Andrew → Andy
How it traveled
The Greek Andreas belonged to a fisherman from Galilee who became one of the twelve apostles, and Christian devotion carried the name across the Mediterranean, into Latin, and then into every language of Europe. English settled on Andrew; Scotland took Saint Andrew as its patron, which is why his diagonal cross sits on the Scottish flag.
Garrett
from Germanic roots meaning "spear" plus either "brave" or "rule"
Garrett is a medieval English form of two different names that had already blurred together by the Middle Ages: Gerard, from ger "spear" and hard "brave, hardy", and Gerald, from ger "spear" and wald "rule". Both are serious readings, and for most bearers the two lines are impossible to separate.
Gerhard → Gerard → Gerrard → Gearóid → Garrett
How it traveled
The spear-names Gerhard and Gerwald were widespread in the Frankish and German-speaking lands well before the Norman Conquest, and Norman speakers brought Gerard and Gerald into England, where scribes flattened both into Garrard, Gerrard and Garrett. In Ireland the Norman-Irish FitzGeralds used the Irish Gearóid, which was anglicized back as Garrett, giving the name a long Irish life alongside its English one.
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
Andy
AN-dee
Two syllables, stress on the first. No regional variation worth worrying about, and it survives every accent intact.
- Andy — Already the short form of Andrew, and used as a full given name on its own in the United States.
- Andi — A spelling variant rather than a separate nickname; more often seen on women, where it shortens Andrea.
- Drew — Reaches the same place by the other road — it clips Andrew rather than Andy, and stands alone as a given name too.
Garrett
GAIR-it
Two syllables, stress on the first. Some speakers use a flatter first vowel, closer to GARR-it; both are ordinary and neither needs correcting.
- Rett — Informal short form taken from the second syllable; also stands alone as a given name.
- G — Initial-only nickname, common among friends and teammates rather than family.
- Gare — Casual clipping used mostly by peers.
- Gary — Occasional short form, though it is far better established as an independent given name of its own.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Andy if you want…
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 70% for Garrett
Choose Garrett if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsGarrett is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowGarrett 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
Andy
Strengths
- Needs no explaining and no spelling out loud — almost every English speaker has met it, and it is written the way it sounds.
- Comes with a full-length formal option already attached: Andrew is there if a longer version is ever wanted for a résumé or a diploma.
- The Andrew family exists in nearly every European language, so relatives abroad will have a form of their own to use.
To consider
- It reads as a nickname to many people, so expect the occasional "is that short for Andrew?" If you would rather have the long form on official paperwork, it is worth deciding that before the birth certificate.
- The rhymes are obvious and well worn — candy, handy — and children find them fast. They are affectionate more often than not, but they do arrive.
- Because Andy also shortens Andrea, it turns up on women as well as men, more often spelled Andi. In US records the name is overwhelmingly given to boys, so an occasional wrong assumption on a form is the realistic cost.
Garrett
Strengths
- A recognizable English spelling that most people can write down on the first hearing, even if the double t occasionally needs confirming.
- Belongs to a large family of names — Gerard, Gerardo, Gérard, Gearóid — so relatives abroad usually have a version they already know.
- Documented continuously in American records from the beginning of those records, and still given to children now.
To consider
- The double consonants invite Garret, Garett and Gerrett, so expect an occasional spelling check on forms and coffee cups.
- It sits close to Gareth and Garrison in sound, and adults will sometimes reach for the wrong one on first meeting.
- Garrett is still a widely borne surname, so it can read as a last name in formal or alphabetical lists.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Andy
40%chance Andy feels dated by 2040
Andy 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.
Garrett
70%chance Garrett feels dated by 2040
Garrett is coming down from a big peak (#74 in 2000). 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 Andy and Garrett 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
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- East and Southeast Asian names in American use
- Disney names on real birth certificates
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- all guides
Where Andy and Garrett each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Andy or Garrett — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Andy or Garrett?
- Garrett, in 2025: Garrett ranked #564 with 526 babies; Andy ranked #565 with 524 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Andy or Garrett?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Andy moved down 164 places; Garrett moved down 200 places.
- Which is the older name, Andy or Garrett?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Andy and Garrett?
- About 78,000 people named Andy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 128,000 people named Garrett are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Andys or Garretts in the classroom?
- Andy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Garrett 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
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