Head to head · Boys' names
Azrael vs Jaime
#656 vs #657 in 2025
Azrael is a whisker ahead (#656 vs #657 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Azrael is climbing the charts fast, Jaime 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
The tape is even: Azrael and Jaime 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
- 1910s: Azrael —, Jaime #3134 — Jaime higher
- 1920s: Azrael —, Jaime #2081 — Jaime higher
- 1930s: Azrael —, Jaime #1162 — Jaime higher
- 1940s: Azrael —, Jaime #811 — Jaime higher
- 1950s: Azrael —, Jaime #416 — Jaime higher
- 1960s: Azrael —, Jaime #287 — Jaime higher
- 1970s: Azrael —, Jaime #199 — Jaime higher
- 1980s: Azrael —, Jaime #196 — Jaime higher
- 1990s: Azrael #8458, Jaime #225 — Jaime higher
- 2000s: Azrael #4798, Jaime #278 — Jaime higher
- 2010s: Azrael #2044, Jaime #453 — Jaime higher
- 2020s: Azrael #762, Jaime #603 — Jaime higher
Jaime stood higher in every recorded decade — 12 of 12.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Azrael | Jaime |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #3134 |
| 1920s | — | #2081 |
| 1930s | — | #1162 |
| 1940s | — | #811 |
| 1950s | — | #416 |
| 1960s | — | #287 |
| 1970s | — | #199 |
| 1980s | — | #196 |
| 1990s | #8458 | #225 |
| 2000s | #4798 | #278 |
| 2010s | #2044 | #453 |
| 2020s | #762 | #603 |
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
Azrael
help of God
From the Hebrew elements ʿazar, "to help," and El, "God" — the same pair behind Azriel and Azarel, both of which appear as men's names in the Hebrew Bible.
ʿAzarʾel (Hebrew) → Azriel → Azra'il (Arabic) → Azrael
How it traveled
The name's bones are Hebrew, and its close relatives Azriel and Azarel are recorded in the biblical books of Jeremiah and Chronicles. The Azrael spelling traveled mainly through angelology: the Quran speaks of malak al-mawt, the angel of death, and later Islamic tradition names that angel Azra'il, a form still current as Azrail in Turkish.
Jaime
From Hebrew Ya'aqov, read either as "holder of the heel / supplanter" or "may God protect"
The Hebrew name Ya'aqov is linked in Genesis to 'aqev, "heel" — Jacob grasping his twin's heel at birth — which gives the traditional reading "supplanter". Semitic scholarship also reads it as a shortened sentence-name meaning roughly "may God protect". Both readings are serious and both are old; neither has pushed the other out.
Ya'aqov → Iakobos → Iacobus → Iacomus → Jaime
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Ya'aqov, becomes Iakobos in the Greek of the New Testament, then Iacobus in Latin. In late spoken Latin the b softened toward m — Iacomus — and that variant is the ancestor of Jaime, Jaume, Giacomo and Jacques, while the older Iacobus line gave Spanish Santiago and Diego and English Jacob.
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
Azrael
AZ-ree-el
AZ-ray-el is also widely heard in the US, and the Turkish and Arabic forms end closer to -ah-EEL. Expect to state your preference more than once.
- Az — The everyday short form, used the way Azriel and Azzam are shortened too.
- Azzy — Informal and affectionate, common in the household and among young children.
- Rael — Takes the back half instead of the front; used as a standalone given name in some Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking places.
- Ray — An anglicized handle drawn from the second syllable; also a long-established given name in its own right.
Jaime
HIGH-meh (Spanish) or JAY-mee (English)
In Spanish the J is a breathy H and the final E is sounded: HIGH-meh. Many English speakers default to JAY-mee, treating it as a spelling of Jamie. Both are in real use in the US, so a bearer usually ends up choosing which one to answer to.
- Jaimito — The standard Spanish diminutive, used affectionately in families and mostly for children.
- Jimmy — Used by some bilingual bearers as an English-side everyday name, borrowed from James rather than derived from Jaime.
- Jai — An informal English clip heard in the US; does not stand alone as a given name in Spanish.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Azrael if you want…
- a name on the way upup 272 places on the charts in five years
Choose Jaime if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsJaime is stepping back from its peak
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
Azrael
Strengths
- Transparent, settled meaning — "help of God" — from elements a parent can point to in Hebrew.
- Exists in Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew and Indonesian forms, so the name is recognizable well beyond English.
- Ready-made short forms: Az and Azzy need no explaining.
To consider
- The angel-of-death association is the first thing many adults will think of, and some will say so out loud. It is not an obscure connection — it is the main route by which the word entered English.
- Popular culture has used it too: Azrael is Gargamel's cat in the Smurfs and a DC Comics character connected to Batman. Neither is unkind, but both may come up.
- Two live pronunciations, AZ-ree-el and AZ-ray-el, and a common misspelling as Azreal, with the vowels flipped.
Jaime
Strengths
- Two established pronunciations aside, the spelling itself is familiar to both English and Spanish readers — few people will ask how to write it.
- Sits in one of the longest documented name lines in the world, running from biblical Hebrew through Greek and Latin into modern Spanish.
- Has close counterparts in most European languages — James, Jacques, Giacomo, Jaume — so it travels without being translated away.
To consider
- The pronunciation genuinely splits: HIGH-meh in Spanish, JAY-mee in much of American English. Neither is wrong, but a Jaime in a mixed environment will correct people, or answer to both.
- In US records this spelling has also been given to girls, as a variant of Jamie, so paperwork and strangers occasionally assume a girl. Worth knowing, though the Spanish masculine use is centuries older and far better established.
- It is easing back from the level it once reached, which means grown Jaimes are more common than small ones — a classroom is unlikely to hold two.
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 Azrael and Jaime in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
Where Azrael and Jaime each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Azrael or Jaime — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Azrael or Jaime?
- Azrael, in 2025: Azrael ranked #656 with 421 babies; Jaime ranked #657 with 420 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Azrael or Jaime?
- Azrael. Over the last five years Azrael moved up 272 places; Jaime moved down 96 places.
- Which is the older name, Azrael or Jaime?
- Azrael entered the US charts in 1994; Jaime entered the US charts in 1916. On the American record, Jaime is the older name.
- How many people are named Azrael and Jaime?
- About 3,200 people named Azrael are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 66,000 people named Jaime are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Azraels or Jaimes in the classroom?
- Azrael will almost certainly be the only one in school. Jaime 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
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