Head to head · Girls' names
Beatrice vs Yara
#508 vs #507 in 2025
Yara is a whisker ahead (#507 vs #508 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Yara is climbing the charts fast, Beatrice is holding its place on the charts.
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: Beatrice and Yara 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
- 1880s: Beatrice #135, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1890s: Beatrice #77, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1900s: Beatrice #46, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1910s: Beatrice #38, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1920s: Beatrice #54, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1930s: Beatrice #105, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1940s: Beatrice #167, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1950s: Beatrice #257, Yara — — Beatrice higher
- 1960s: Beatrice #376, Yara #6617 — Beatrice higher
- 1970s: Beatrice #546, Yara #4866 — Beatrice higher
- 1980s: Beatrice #669, Yara #3276 — Beatrice higher
- 1990s: Beatrice #869, Yara #2836 — Beatrice higher
- 2000s: Beatrice #979, Yara #1783 — Beatrice higher
- 2010s: Beatrice #623, Yara #1122 — Beatrice higher
- 2020s: Beatrice #557, Yara #597 — Beatrice higher
Beatrice stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Beatrice | Yara |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #135 | — |
| 1890s | #77 | — |
| 1900s | #46 | — |
| 1910s | #38 | — |
| 1920s | #54 | — |
| 1930s | #105 | — |
| 1940s | #167 | — |
| 1950s | #257 | — |
| 1960s | #376 | #6617 |
| 1970s | #546 | #4866 |
| 1980s | #669 | #3276 |
| 1990s | #869 | #2836 |
| 2000s | #979 | #1783 |
| 2010s | #623 | #1122 |
| 2020s | #557 | #597 |
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
Yara
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.
Yara
Several genuine readings: "lady of the water" (Tupi), "honeycomb, honeysuckle" (Hebrew), "strength, capability" (Persian)
In Brazilian folklore, Iara — also written Yara — is the woman of the river, her name traced to Tupi elements for water and lady or lord. In Hebrew, Ya'ara (יערה) means honeycomb or honeysuckle. In Persian, yārā carries the sense of strength or capability and stands beside yār, "friend, companion." Yara is also widely used across the Arabic-speaking world, where it is often glossed online as "small butterfly"; that reading circulates far more widely than any evidence for it. An unsettled name here means a well-populated one, not a broken one.
How it traveled
This is one spelling standing at a crossroads rather than one name with one road. Brazilian Portuguese has Iara, sometimes spelled Yara, from Tupi-Guarani story, where she belongs to the river; the name has been used for girls in Brazil for generations.
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.
Yara
YAH-rah
Two even syllables, stress on the first, the a's as in "father." Some American speakers land on YAIR-uh instead, closer to "Sarah." The Brazilian form Iara is said ee-AH-rah, with the stress in the middle.
- Yaya — The most common affectionate form, used at home and by younger siblings; rarely written down.
- Ya — A clipped call-name among family and close friends rather than anything formal.
- Yari — Occasional playful extension; also exists on its own in Spanish-speaking families.
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
- a long American recordBeatrice was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Yara if you want…
- a name on the way upup 147 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalYara entered the US charts in 1969
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.
Yara
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and no silent or optional ones — most people can spell it correctly after hearing it once.
- Belongs naturally in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Portuguese as well as English, so it travels between families and countries without translation.
- Reads unmistakably as a girl's name in American use, with no gender-guessing on a class list.
To consider
- The competing spellings are the real friction: Yara, Yarah and Iara all exist, and someone will occasionally write the wrong one. Choosing Yara puts you on the version most used in American records.
- The "small butterfly" meaning appears on many websites with nothing solid behind it. If the meaning is part of why you love the name, it is worth knowing which readings are actually documented.
- In Turkish, the word yara means "wound" — irrelevant in most American settings, but worth knowing if your family or circle includes Turkish speakers.
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 Yara 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 Yara?
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 Yara each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Beatrice or Yara — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Beatrice or Yara?
- Yara, in 2025: Yara ranked #507 with 585 babies; Beatrice ranked #508 with 583 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Beatrice or Yara?
- Yara. Over the last five years Beatrice moved up 44 places; Yara moved up 147 places.
- Which is the older name, Beatrice or Yara?
- Beatrice was already in use when US records began in 1880; Yara entered the US charts in 1969. On the American record, Beatrice is the older name.
- How many people are named Beatrice and Yara?
- About 50,500 people named Beatrice are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,500 people named Yara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Beatrices or Yaras in the classroom?
- Beatrice will almost certainly be the only one in school. Yara 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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