Head to head · Girls' names
Araceli vs Davina
#746 vs #749 in 2025
Araceli is a whisker ahead (#746 vs #749 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Araceli is back after a long quiet spell, Davina 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
On the charts, Araceli leads 5 measures of 6; Davina 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
- 1910s: Araceli —, Davina #4417 — Davina higher
- 1920s: Araceli —, Davina #4244 — Davina higher
- 1930s: Araceli #4250, Davina — — Araceli higher
- 1940s: Araceli #4280, Davina #3701 — Davina higher
- 1950s: Araceli #2726, Davina #2977 — Araceli higher
- 1960s: Araceli #1313, Davina #1718 — Araceli higher
- 1970s: Araceli #625, Davina #796 — Araceli higher
- 1980s: Araceli #599, Davina #1030 — Araceli higher
- 1990s: Araceli #568, Davina #1387 — Araceli higher
- 2000s: Araceli #608, Davina #1992 — Araceli higher
- 2010s: Araceli #1030, Davina #1284 — Araceli higher
- 2020s: Araceli #852, Davina #636 — Davina higher
Araceli stood higher in 8 of 12 decades; Davina took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Araceli | Davina |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #4417 |
| 1920s | — | #4244 |
| 1930s | #4250 | — |
| 1940s | #4280 | #3701 |
| 1950s | #2726 | #2977 |
| 1960s | #1313 | #1718 |
| 1970s | #625 | #796 |
| 1980s | #599 | #1030 |
| 1990s | #568 | #1387 |
| 2000s | #608 | #1992 |
| 2010s | #1030 | #1284 |
| 2020s | #852 | #636 |
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
Araceli
altar of heaven
From the Latin phrase ara caeli, 'altar of the sky' or 'altar of heaven.'
ara caeli → Aracoeli → Araceli → Aracely
How it traveled
The name begins as two Latin words rather than one: ara, altar, and caeli, of heaven. It attached itself to the Roman basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which stands on the Capitoline Hill, and from Marian devotion it passed into Spain as a given name — Nuestra Señora de Araceli is honored as patroness of Lucena in Andalusia.
Davina
Beloved
Davina is built directly on David, from Hebrew Dawid, long understood as 'beloved'. The -ina ending is a feminine suffix, not a separate element with a meaning of its own.
Dawid → David → Davina
How it traveled
David came into European use from the Hebrew Bible, and it took particularly deep root in Scotland, where two medieval kings of Scots carried it — David I in the twelfth century and David II in the fourteenth. Scottish naming custom liked to pass a father's or grandfather's name to a daughter by adding a feminine ending, which is how Davina appears in Scottish records from the seventeenth century onward, alongside sisters of the same pattern like Georgina and Williamina.
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
Araceli
ah-rah-SEH-lee
Four syllables, stress on the third. English speakers often say ar-uh-SELL-ee, and in Castilian Spanish the c is pronounced like a th. All three are heard; the family's own version settles it.
- Ara — The most common short form in English-speaking settings; also used on its own as a given name.
- Celi — Taken from the second half of the name; informal, used within families.
- Chelo — A traditional Spanish diminutive pattern, informal and affectionate, more common among older speakers.
- Ceci — Heard informally where the name is pronounced with a soft c; overlaps with the short form of Cecilia.
Davina
duh-VEE-nuh
The Scottish and British standard is duh-VEE-nuh. Some American speakers say duh-VY-nuh, with the middle syllable rhyming with 'shine'. Both are in real use, so expect to state your preference now and then.
- Vina — The most common clipped form, taken from the stressed middle syllable; also used on its own as a given name.
- Dava — Informal short form from the first half of the name.
- Dee — An initial-based nickname shared with many D names, used casually rather than on documents.
- Davie — Borrowed from the David side of the family tree; used for boys and girls alike in Scotland.
- Also Vinnie.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Araceli if you want…
- a name on the way upup 247 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itAraceli runs 4 syllables, Davina 3
Choose Davina if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsDavina is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesDavina is 3 syllables to Araceli's 4
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
Araceli
Strengths
- A meaning that is fully settled and easy to state: altar of heaven, straight from Latin.
- Spelled phonetically in Spanish and readable at first sight in English, even by people who have not met it before.
- Several established short forms already in use — Ara, Celi, Chelo — so there is room to be informal.
To consider
- Araceli and Aracely are both long-standing spellings, so expect to specify which one, and to correct forms and rosters more than once.
- The pronunciation shifts between Spanish and English speakers — the middle c can be an s or, in Castilian Spanish, a th. Worth deciding early which version the family uses.
- It is concentrated in Texas, California and Arizona, so in other parts of the country a child may be the first Araceli people have met — a small explaining job rather than a real obstacle.
Davina
Strengths
- Its meaning is unambiguous and easy to explain: it is David, 'beloved', in a feminine form.
- The spelling follows directly from a name almost everyone already knows, so it is usually written correctly once heard.
- Several established short forms — Vina, Dava, Dee — give a child options without needing a second name.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate: duh-VEE-nuh and duh-VY-nuh. Neither is wrong, but she will correct people occasionally, and the correction is a lifelong small habit.
- The close cousins Davinia, Davena and Davida sound similar enough that some people will reach for the wrong one when writing it down.
- The link to David is transparent, so people may assume there is a David in the family and ask about it. Fine if there is one, mildly repetitive if there isn't.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Araceli and Davina 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 Araceli and Davina?
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 these names appear on
Where Araceli and Davina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Araceli or Davina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Araceli or Davina?
- Araceli, in 2025: Araceli ranked #746 with 364 babies; Davina ranked #749 with 363 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Araceli or Davina?
- Araceli. Over the last five years Araceli moved up 247 places; Davina moved down 119 places.
- Which is the older name, Araceli or Davina?
- Araceli entered the US charts in 1939; Davina entered the US charts in 1916. On the American record, Davina is the older name.
- How many people are named Araceli and Davina?
- About 20,000 people named Araceli are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 11,000 people named Davina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Aracelis or Davinas in the classroom?
- Araceli will almost certainly be the only one in school. Davina 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 Araceli, Davina and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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