Head to head · Girls' names
Armani vs Della
#562 vs #563 in 2025 · both Germanic roots
Armani is a whisker ahead (#562 vs #563 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Armani is holding its place on the charts, Della is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Della 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, Della leads 4 measures of 6; Armani 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
- 1880s: Armani —, Della #68 — Della higher
- 1890s: Armani —, Della #81 — Della higher
- 1900s: Armani —, Della #107 — Della higher
- 1910s: Armani —, Della #159 — Della higher
- 1920s: Armani —, Della #197 — Della higher
- 1930s: Armani —, Della #218 — Della higher
- 1940s: Armani —, Della #283 — Della higher
- 1950s: Armani —, Della #353 — Della higher
- 1960s: Armani —, Della #464 — Della higher
- 1970s: Armani —, Della #837 — Della higher
- 1980s: Armani #6160, Della #1554 — Della higher
- 1990s: Armani #2615, Della #2538 — Della higher
- 2000s: Armani #878, Della #2496 — Armani higher
- 2010s: Armani #685, Della #1224 — Armani higher
- 2020s: Armani #493, Della #679 — Armani higher
Della stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Armani has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Armani | Della |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #68 |
| 1890s | — | #81 |
| 1900s | — | #107 |
| 1910s | — | #159 |
| 1920s | — | #197 |
| 1930s | — | #218 |
| 1940s | — | #283 |
| 1950s | — | #353 |
| 1960s | — | #464 |
| 1970s | — | #837 |
| 1980s | #6160 | #1554 |
| 1990s | #2615 | #2538 |
| 2000s | #878 | #2496 |
| 2010s | #685 | #1224 |
| 2020s | #493 | #679 |
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
Armani
Two readings: 'army man' through the Italian surname, or 'wish, aspiration' through Persian and Urdu
As an Italian surname, Armani is the family form of Ermanno — the Italian version of the Germanic name Hariman, from elements meaning 'army' and 'man'. Quite separately, arman in Persian and Urdu means wish, longing or ideal, and families from those language traditions use the name in that sense. Both roads are real; which one applies depends on the household.
Hariman (Germanic) → Ermanno (Italian) → Armano → Armani
How it traveled
Italian surnames ending in -i are usually family plurals — the Armani were the household of an Armano or Ermanno, a name the Lombards brought into northern Italy from Germanic Hariman. It stayed a surname for centuries, then traveled far beyond Italy when the Milan fashion house founded in the 1970s put it on shopfronts worldwide.
Della
Depends on the longer name behind it: 'noble' by way of Adela and Adelaide, or from Delia, a title of the goddess Artemis born on Delos
Della is a short form rather than a name coined whole, so its meaning is inherited. Through Adela and Adelaide it goes back to the Germanic element adal, 'noble.' Through Delia — also shortened to Della in English use — it reaches Greek Delia, 'of Delos.' Cordelia and Fidelia have also handed the name down. All these roads are real; none cancels the others.
Adal (Germanic element, 'noble') → Adela → Adelaide → Della
How it traveled
Della grew out of the nineteenth-century English habit of turning long formal names into warm short ones and then registering the short one on the birth certificate. Adela, Adelaide, Adeline, Delia and Cordelia all shed their front halves in family speech, and Della was the common landing place.
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
Armani
ar-MAH-nee
Stress on the middle syllable, with a broad ah. The pronunciation is the same in Italian, Spanish and English, so it survives crossing borders intact.
- Mani — The most common short form, informal, used the same way for boys and girls.
- Ari — Informal, drawn from the first syllable; also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Manny — Informal; shared with Manuel and Emmanuel, so it can be ambiguous in a group.
- Armi — Casual family shortening rather than a name used outside the household.
Della
DEL-uh
Stress on the first syllable. One pronunciation everywhere in English, and the spelling gives it away on sight — rare for a name this old.
- Dell — The oldest short form, used informally; also stands alone as a given name and as a surname.
- Dellie — Affectionate childhood form, spelled Delly as often as Dellie.
- Dee — Informal, shared with many D- names; used for adults as much as children.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Armani if you want…
- a name holding steadyArmani is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itArmani runs 3 syllables, Della 2
- a newer arrivalArmani entered the US charts in 1989
Choose Della if you want…
- a name on the way upup 352 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesDella is 2 syllables to Armani's 3
- a long American recordDella was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Armani
Strengths
- A spelling almost everyone can already read and write on the first try, thanks to a century of Italian surnames and decades of shop windows.
- Works unchanged for a boy or a girl — the American record shows it given to both in close to equal numbers.
- Ready-made short forms in Mani and Ari, both of which stand on their own.
To consider
- The fashion house is the first thing most Americans will think of, and some will read the name as a brand reference rather than a family name. That association is unlikely to fade soon.
- Because it is given to boys and girls in near-equal measure, people will not be able to guess from a class list or an application form. Some families welcome that; it is worth deciding in advance how you feel about it.
- This is a very recent arrival as a first name, so nearly everyone carrying it is young. There are few adult Armanis to point to yet.
Della
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, with one settled pronunciation, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- Unbroken use in the United States since the nineteenth century, so it reads as familiar rather than invented.
- Sits beside a whole family of longer names — Adela, Adelaide, Adeline, Cordelia, Delia — if you want a formal version on paper.
To consider
- It is a short form by origin, so it comes with no built-in long version. Some parents record Adelaide or Cordelia and use Della daily; others use Della on its own, as families have done for well over a century.
- It is still strongly represented among the oldest living generations, which is exactly why it sounds fresh again now — but expect some people to hear it as their grandmother's era rather than a baby's.
- In Italian, della is an everyday grammatical word meaning 'of the,' which Italian speakers will notice, usually with amusement rather than objection.
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 Armani and Della 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 Armani and Della?
Put both to the vote.
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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
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- The longest comebacks in the records
- all guides
Where Armani and Della each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Armani or Della — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Armani or Della?
- Armani, in 2025: Armani ranked #562 with 534 babies; Della ranked #563 with 533 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Armani or Della?
- Della. Over the last five years Armani moved down 69 places; Della moved up 352 places.
- Which is the older name, Armani or Della?
- Armani entered the US charts in 1989; Della was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Della is the older name.
- How many people are named Armani and Della?
- About 12,000 people named Armani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 24,000 people named Della are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Armanis or Dellas in the classroom?
- Armani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Della 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
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