Head to head · Girls' names
Beatrice vs Estella
#508 vs #509 in 2025
Beatrice is a whisker ahead (#508 vs #509 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Beatrice is holding its place on the charts, Estella is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Estella 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, Beatrice leads 4 measures of 6; Estella leads 1.
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: Beatrice #135, Estella #115 — Estella higher
- 1890s: Beatrice #77, Estella #138 — Beatrice higher
- 1900s: Beatrice #46, Estella #172 — Beatrice higher
- 1910s: Beatrice #38, Estella #233 — Beatrice higher
- 1920s: Beatrice #54, Estella #273 — Beatrice higher
- 1930s: Beatrice #105, Estella #320 — Beatrice higher
- 1940s: Beatrice #167, Estella #378 — Beatrice higher
- 1950s: Beatrice #257, Estella #497 — Beatrice higher
- 1960s: Beatrice #376, Estella #711 — Beatrice higher
- 1970s: Beatrice #546, Estella #1048 — Beatrice higher
- 1980s: Beatrice #669, Estella #1561 — Beatrice higher
- 1990s: Beatrice #869, Estella #2219 — Beatrice higher
- 2000s: Beatrice #979, Estella #1530 — Beatrice higher
- 2010s: Beatrice #623, Estella #888 — Beatrice higher
- 2020s: Beatrice #557, Estella #585 — Beatrice higher
Beatrice stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Beatrice has held the lead since the 1890s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Beatrice | Estella |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #135 | #115 |
| 1890s | #77 | #138 |
| 1900s | #46 | #172 |
| 1910s | #38 | #233 |
| 1920s | #54 | #273 |
| 1930s | #105 | #320 |
| 1940s | #167 | #378 |
| 1950s | #257 | #497 |
| 1960s | #376 | #711 |
| 1970s | #546 | #1048 |
| 1980s | #669 | #1561 |
| 1990s | #869 | #2219 |
| 2000s | #979 | #1530 |
| 2010s | #623 | #888 |
| 2020s | #557 | #585 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Beatrice
- Canada#53
Estella
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
Beatrice
she who makes happy
The Latin name is built on a word about blessing or happiness, and the reading is settled in that form. The record does not explain the name's occasional use for boys in America.
How it traveled
Much Ado About Nothing has a main plot about Hero, who is slandered at her own wedding, and a secondary plot about her cousin Beatrice, who spends the play arguing with a man she clearly likes. The secondary plot has all the good writing.
Estella
star
From Latin stella, 'star', through the Old French given name Estelle.
stella (Latin) → Estelle (Old French) → Estella
How it traveled
The root is the Latin stella, star, which became the medieval French given name Estelle and survived in the south of France long after Latin stopped being spoken. Estella is the Latinate form of that name, and English speakers took it up in the nineteenth century, when classical and flower-and-star names were being pulled back into use together.
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
Beatrice
BEE-uh-triss
Three syllables with the stress in front. The Italian form is four syllables and is said bay-ah-TREE-chay.
- Bea — The commonest short form; long established and used as a name on its own.
- Trixie — Built from the back of the name; used affectionately.
Estella
eh-STEL-ah
Stress on the middle syllable in both English and Spanish. Spanish speakers may soften the first vowel toward 'es-TEH-la'.
- Stella — The most common short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Essie — A nineteenth-century short form for both Estella and Esther; still used informally within families.
- Ella — Informal, and independently very familiar as a standalone name.
- Estie — Family-level nickname, rarely written down.
- Also Tella.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Beatrice if you want…
- a name holding steadyBeatrice is holding its place on the charts
- a name that charts abroad tooBeatrice is on the national lists of Canada
Choose Estella if you want…
- a name on the way upup 222 places on the charts in five years
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Stella, Essie and Ella
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
Beatrice
Strengths
- Bea and Trixie are both available as short forms and are very different in register.
- It works across English, Italian, Spanish and French with only a shift of stress.
- The meaning is settled and pleasant to hand a child.
To consider
- The English and Italian pronunciations are quite different, which matters in a mixed household.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to girls but is recorded for boys as well, so a form will occasionally guess wrong.
- It reads as a name of an older generation to some American ears, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
Estella
Strengths
- Meaning is transparent and easy to explain: star, from Latin stella.
- Several short forms already in wide use — Stella, Ella, Essie — none of which need explaining.
- Reads and pronounces naturally in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with close relatives in French and Italian.
To consider
- It sits in a crowd of near-identical names: Estelle, Estela, Stella. Expect to spell it out often, and to be handed the wrong one on paperwork now and then.
- Stella is far more familiar to most ears, so an Estella may find herself shortened to Stella by teachers and coaches unless you correct it early.
- Dickens's Estella in Great Expectations is deliberately cold and made to break hearts. Some readers make the connection immediately; most do not.
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 Beatrice and Estella 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 Beatrice and Estella?
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 these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Canadian favorites the US overlooks
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Eight-letter names with presence
- all guides
Where Beatrice and Estella each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Beatrice or Estella — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Beatrice or Estella?
- Beatrice, in 2025: Beatrice ranked #508 with 583 babies; Estella ranked #509 with 581 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Beatrice or Estella?
- Estella. Over the last five years Beatrice moved up 44 places; Estella moved up 222 places.
- Which is the older name, Beatrice or Estella?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Beatrice and Estella?
- About 50,500 people named Beatrice are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 18,500 people named Estella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Beatrices or Estellas in the classroom?
- Beatrice will almost certainly be the only one in school. Estella 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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