Head to head · Boys' names
Azael vs Lochlan
#645 vs #644 in 2025
Lochlan is a whisker ahead (#644 vs #645 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lochlan is holding its place on the charts, Azael is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Azael 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, Lochlan leads 4 measures of 6; Azael 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
- 1970s: Azael #5845, Lochlan — — Azael higher
- 1980s: Azael #5607, Lochlan — — Azael higher
- 1990s: Azael #3989, Lochlan #6080 — Azael higher
- 2000s: Azael #2077, Lochlan #3182 — Azael higher
- 2010s: Azael #1564, Lochlan #1004 — Lochlan higher
- 2020s: Azael #822, Lochlan #761 — Lochlan higher
Azael stood higher in 4 of 6 decades; Lochlan has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Azael | Lochlan |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | #5845 | — |
| 1980s | #5607 | — |
| 1990s | #3989 | #6080 |
| 2000s | #2077 | #3182 |
| 2010s | #1564 | #1004 |
| 2020s | #822 | #761 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Azael
Not charting outside the US.
Lochlan
- Scotland#72
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Azael
contains Hebrew el, "God"; the first element is disputed
Two biblical names arrive at this spelling. Hazael (Ḥaza'el), the king of Aram in the Book of Kings, is read as "God has seen" or "God beholds"; Asahel (Asah'el), Joab's brother in the Book of Samuel, appears in Spanish Bibles as Asael and is read as "God has made". The -el is certain in both; which name a given family means is often the family's own answer.
Ḥaza'el (Hebrew) → Ἀζαήλ / Azaēl (Greek) → Azael (Spanish)
How it traveled
The name belongs to the large family of Hebrew names built on el, "God", and comes into modern use through scripture rather than through any single famous bearer. The Greek Septuagint spelling Ἀζαήλ, and the closely related Asael, passed into Latin and then into Spanish Bibles, where both forms stayed readable and pronounceable for ordinary speakers.
Lochlan
From Lochlann — the Gaelic name for Scandinavia; hence 'Norseman'
Lochlann was the Gaelic term for the Norse homelands, and it was long read as the land of lochs or fjords, which is why the name is often glossed as 'land of the lakes'. Both point to the same root word.
Lochlann → Lachlann → Lochlainn → Lachlan → Lochlan
How it traveled
Scottish Gaelic Lachlann and Irish Lochlainn both come from Lochlann, the Gaelic name for Scandinavia, and were given to boys in reference to Norse settlers and their kin — the Hebrides and the western seaboard had centuries of Norse-Gaelic families to draw on. The name became closely tied to Clan Maclachlan, whose surname is literally 'son of Lachlann', and the Irish line gave English the surnames Laughlin and McLoughlin.
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
Azael
ah-sah-EL
In Spanish the stress falls on the final syllable and the z is said like an s: ah-sah-EL. English speakers commonly say AY-zayl or ah-ZAY-el. Both are heard in the US, so it helps to decide early which one you will correct people toward.
- Aza — Informal, family-level shortening; not an established given name in its own right.
- Zael — Informal, drawn from the stressed end of the name; occasionally used as a nickname among peers.
- Az — Very short and casual, mostly among friends and siblings rather than adults.
Lochlan
LOCK-lin
Two syllables, stress on the first. The 'ch' is a hard k in English use; Gaelic speakers give it the throaty sound heard in the word loch. The ending is usually reduced to -lin or -lun rather than a full -lan.
- Lochie — The standard informal short form in Scotland and Australia; also spelled Lochy.
- Lachie — The same nickname carried over from the Lachlan spelling; widely used in Australia.
- Locky — Phonetic informal spelling, common in speech and on sports rosters.
- Loch — One-syllable form, used informally by family and friends.
- Also Lan.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Azael if you want…
- a name on the way upup 485 places on the charts in five years
Choose Lochlan if you want…
- a name holding steadyLochlan is holding its place on the charts
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Lochie, Lachie and Locky
- a name that charts abroad tooLochlan is on the national lists of Scotland
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
Azael
Strengths
- Ends in the same -el as Miguel, Daniel, Gabriel and Ismael, so the shape is instantly readable to Spanish-speaking families.
- Spelled the way it sounds in Spanish, with no silent letters and no accent mark to lose in forms and databases.
- Carries a biblical line reaching back to the Hebrew scriptures and their Greek translation, with a documented written form.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate — ah-sah-EL and AY-zayl — and he will spend a fair amount of his life offering the one he prefers. Neither is wrong; it just becomes a small routine.
- The spelling sits close to Asael, Hazael and Azazel, the last of which is a demon in the Book of Enoch and a Marvel villain. Expect an occasional mix-up or an offhand comment, more likely from adults than from children.
- Because its use here is recent and thin, he is unlikely to meet another. That means no ready-made nickname either — whatever the family lands on will be the family's own invention.
Lochlan
Strengths
- The 'loch' opening is a word most English speakers already know, so the pronunciation is guessable on first reading.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Lochie, Lachie, Locky — that have been in real use for generations.
- A documented Gaelic line stretching back through Clan Maclachlan to the Norse-Gaelic west of Scotland.
To consider
- Lachlan is the older and better-known spelling, so expect a lifetime of gentle corrections — and of forms coming back with the a instead of the o.
- Some readers will try LOTCH-lan or LOSH-lan before they land on LOCK-lin, especially in writing-first situations like roll calls and appointments.
- Its American wave is recent, so nearly every Lochlan in the country is still a child. That means fewer adult namesakes now, and a name that will read as young for a while yet.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Azael
56%chance Azael feels dated by 2040
Azael 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.
Lochlan
40%chance Lochlan feels dated by 2040
Lochlan 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.
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 Azael and Lochlan in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Azael and Lochlan?
Put both to the vote.
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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 Azael and Lochlan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Azael or Lochlan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Azael or Lochlan?
- Lochlan, in 2025: Lochlan ranked #644 with 433 babies; Azael ranked #645 with 432 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Azael or Lochlan?
- Azael. Over the last five years Azael moved up 485 places; Lochlan moved up 84 places.
- Which is the older name, Azael or Lochlan?
- Azael entered the US charts in 1977; Lochlan entered the US charts in 1998. On the American record, Azael is the older name.
- How many people are named Azael and Lochlan?
- About 3,900 people named Azael are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,800 people named Lochlan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Azaels or Lochlans in the classroom?
- Azael will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lochlan 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
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