Head to head · Girls' names
Araceli vs Maisy
#746 vs #745 in 2025
Maisy is a whisker ahead (#745 vs #746 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Maisy is climbing the charts fast, Araceli is back after a long quiet spell.
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
The tape is even: Araceli and Maisy each lead 3 measures of 6.
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
- 1930s: Araceli #4250, Maisy — — Araceli higher
- 1940s: Araceli #4280, Maisy — — Araceli higher
- 1950s: Araceli #2726, Maisy — — Araceli higher
- 1960s: Araceli #1313, Maisy — — Araceli higher
- 1970s: Araceli #625, Maisy — — Araceli higher
- 1980s: Araceli #599, Maisy — — Araceli higher
- 1990s: Araceli #568, Maisy #8137 — Araceli higher
- 2000s: Araceli #608, Maisy #2528 — Araceli higher
- 2010s: Araceli #1030, Maisy #1514 — Araceli higher
- 2020s: Araceli #852, Maisy #912 — Araceli higher
Araceli stood higher in every recorded decade — 10 of 10.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Araceli | Maisy |
|---|---|---|
| 1930s | #4250 | — |
| 1940s | #4280 | — |
| 1950s | #2726 | — |
| 1960s | #1313 | — |
| 1970s | #625 | — |
| 1980s | #599 | — |
| 1990s | #568 | #8137 |
| 2000s | #608 | #2528 |
| 2010s | #1030 | #1514 |
| 2020s | #852 | #912 |
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.
Maisy
pearl
Maisy carries the meaning of Margaret, from Greek margarites, "pearl". The route runs through Mairead, the Gaelic form of Margaret, which gave Scotland the pet forms Maisie and Mysie.
Margarites → Margaret → Mairead → Maisie → Maisy
How it traveled
Margaret arrived in Scotland with the medieval church and became Mairead in Gaelic, and Mairead in everyday Scots speech wore down to Maisie and Mysie. Those short forms broke free and were used as full names, which is how Henry James could title a novel with one in 1897.
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.
Maisy
MAY-zee
Stress on the first syllable; the s sounds like a z, as in Daisy. There is only one accepted way to say it, which spares a lifetime of corrections on that front.
- Mae — The most natural clipping, and a long-established given name on its own.
- Maise — Informal, mostly spoken rather than written.
- Maze — Playground-level informal, used by friends more than family.
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 with more sound in itAraceli runs 4 syllables, Maisy 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 54% for Maisy
Choose Maisy if you want…
- a name on the way upup 386 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMaisy is 2 syllables to Araceli's 4
- a name that feels very nowMaisy is climbing the charts fast
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.
Maisy
Strengths
- Instantly sayable in English: two syllables, a familiar rhyme in Daisy, and no pronunciation ambiguity to correct.
- Sits at the end of a long documented line — Margaret to Mairead to Maisie — so it has formal ancestry without sounding formal.
- Related forms exist across most of Europe: Marguerite, Margarita, Greta, Mairead.
To consider
- Maisie is the older and more widely known spelling, so expect to say "with a y" fairly often, and to see it written the other way by people acting in good faith.
- It shares its shape with Macy, Maci and Daisy, all in use at once. Some mishearing comes with the territory.
- Maisy is a pet form by origin, with no longer version behind it unless you register Margaret and use Maisy at home. Some parents like that flexibility; others prefer the short name to be the real one.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Araceli
30%chance Araceli feels dated by 2040
Araceli is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Maisy
54%chance Maisy feels dated by 2040
Maisy 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 Araceli and Maisy 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 Maisy?
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.
Araceli or Maisy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Araceli or Maisy?
- Maisy, in 2025: Maisy ranked #745 with 365 babies; Araceli ranked #746 with 364 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Araceli or Maisy?
- Maisy. Over the last five years Araceli moved up 247 places; Maisy moved up 386 places.
- Which is the older name, Araceli or Maisy?
- Araceli entered the US charts in 1939; Maisy entered the US charts in 1991. On the American record, Araceli is the older name.
- How many people are named Araceli and Maisy?
- About 20,000 people named Araceli are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,200 people named Maisy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Aracelis or Maisys in the classroom?
- Araceli will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maisy 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, Maisy and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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