Head to head · Boys' names
Austin vs Jace
#113 vs #114 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Austin is a whisker ahead (#113 vs #114 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, Austin leads 5 measures of 6; Jace 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: Austin #206, Jace — — Austin higher
- 1890s: Austin #225, Jace — — Austin higher
- 1900s: Austin #231, Jace — — Austin higher
- 1910s: Austin #241, Jace — — Austin higher
- 1920s: Austin #273, Jace — — Austin higher
- 1930s: Austin #341, Jace #3549 — Austin higher
- 1940s: Austin #397, Jace #2961 — Austin higher
- 1950s: Austin #492, Jace #1970 — Austin higher
- 1960s: Austin #544, Jace #1526 — Austin higher
- 1970s: Austin #390, Jace #1361 — Austin higher
- 1980s: Austin #118, Jace #740 — Austin higher
- 1990s: Austin #24, Jace #489 — Austin higher
- 2000s: Austin #39, Jace #231 — Austin higher
- 2010s: Austin #70, Jace #89 — Austin higher
- 2020s: Austin #103, Jace #106 — Austin higher
Austin stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Austin | Jace |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #206 | — |
| 1890s | #225 | — |
| 1900s | #231 | — |
| 1910s | #241 | — |
| 1920s | #273 | — |
| 1930s | #341 | #3549 |
| 1940s | #397 | #2961 |
| 1950s | #492 | #1970 |
| 1960s | #544 | #1526 |
| 1970s | #390 | #1361 |
| 1980s | #118 | #740 |
| 1990s | #24 | #489 |
| 2000s | #39 | #231 |
| 2010s | #70 | #89 |
| 2020s | #103 | #106 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Austin
- Canada#49
- England & Wales#88
- Scotland#92
Jace
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Austin
great, venerable — via Augustine, from Latin Augustus
Austin is a contracted form of Augustine (Latin Augustinus), itself built on Augustus, the honorific title meaning 'venerable' or 'majestic'.
Augustus → Augustinus → Augustine → Austin
How it traveled
The Latin name Augustinus, formed from the imperial title Augustus, came into English as Augustine and was quickly worn down in speech to Austin — the same way Augustinian friars in England became the Austin Friars. Because it was so common in the medieval period, it hardened into a surname, and it was as a surname that it crossed the Atlantic and attached itself to places, most famously the capital of Texas, named for an early Anglo colonist.
Jace
Two serious readings: 'healer' by way of Jason, or simply the initials J.C. said aloud
Jace works most often as a short form of Jason, which comes from Greek Iason, connected to the verb meaning 'to heal'. But it has also arisen independently as a spoken spelling of the initials J.C. — a habit with a long history in the American South, where initials often served as a whole name. Neither road cancels the other; a given Jace may descend from either.
Iason → Jason → Jace
How it traveled
Jace is an English-language creation, built by shortening rather than translating. Jason itself reached English through the Greek Iason, a name carried by classical myth and later by the Greek-speaking world of the New Testament; by the twentieth century Jason had become common enough in the United States that its clipped form began appearing on birth records in its own right.
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
Austin
AW-stin
Two syllables, stress on the first. No regional disagreement worth worrying about in English.
- Aus — The most common clipping, used among friends and family rather than on paper.
- Auggie — Borrowed from the Augustine side of the family tree; also stands alone as a nickname for August.
- Ozzie — An occasional playful reshaping of the opening sound; more often belongs to Oscar or Oswald.
Jace
JAYSS
One syllable, rhyming with face. The c is soft; nobody reads it as a k.
- Jay — The usual informal trim; also stands alone as a given name in English.
- J — A single-initial address, used mostly among family and friends rather than on paper.
- Jacey — An affectionate lengthening rather than a shortening; used with young children and also recorded as a name of its own.
Who has carried each name
Austin
Austin Butler (b. 1991) — Oscar-nominated for playing Elvis
Jace
Jace Norman (b. 2000) — Henry Danger star
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Austin if you want…
- a name with more sound in itAustin runs 2 syllables, Jace 1
- a name that charts abroad tooAustin is on the national lists of Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
- a long American recordAustin was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Jace if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesJace is 1 syllable to Austin's 2
- a newer arrivalJace entered the US charts in 1936
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
Austin
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation match: almost no American needs it repeated or explained.
- A documented line back through medieval English Augustine to Latin Augustinus — an unbroken record of many centuries.
- Charts in Canada, England and Wales, and Scotland as well as the US, so it travels across English-speaking countries without translation.
To consider
- It has a strong generational signature: most Austins alive today are adults in their twenties, so a baby now will share the name mainly with grown-ups rather than classmates.
- The Texas city is the first association for many Americans, which some families like and others would rather avoid.
- Austen and Austyn both exist, so a child will occasionally have the spelling checked — a minor, lifelong correction rather than a real problem.
Jace
Strengths
- One syllable and four letters — short enough for a child to write early, and said the same way on first attempt by almost any English speaker.
- Comes with a ready formal counterpart in Jason, if a longer version is ever wanted on a document or a résumé.
- Has a genuine record on US birth registers going back generations, so it is not a recent invention despite its recent wave.
To consider
- The spelling competes with Jayce, Jase and Jacen, all in real use. Expect to spell it aloud fairly often, even though yours is the plainest of the set.
- The name's wave is very recent, so most people carrying it are still children and teenagers. It will read as young for a while, then age with its generation as every such name does.
- At one syllable there is little to shorten, which suits some families and frustrates others who like a nickname to grow into.
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 Austin and Jace 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 Austin and Jace?
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 Austin and Jace — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Austin or Jace — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Austin or Jace?
- Austin, in 2025: Austin ranked #113 with 3,103 babies; Jace ranked #114 with 3,083 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Austin or Jace?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Austin moved down 25 places; Jace moved down 18 places.
- Which is the older name, Austin or Jace?
- Austin was already in use when US records began in 1880; Jace entered the US charts in 1936. On the American record, Austin is the older name.
- How many people are named Austin and Jace?
- About 415,000 people named Austin are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 90,500 people named Jace are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Austins or Jaces in the classroom?
- Austin will almost certainly be the only one in school. Jace will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. 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 Austin, Jace and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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