Head to head · Girls' names
Bonnie vs Murphy
#396 vs #397 in 2025
Bonnie is a whisker ahead (#396 vs #397 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Bonnie is back after a long quiet spell, Murphy is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Murphy 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, Bonnie leads 5 measures of 6; Murphy 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: Bonnie #339, Murphy — — Bonnie higher
- 1890s: Bonnie #233, Murphy #1700 — Bonnie higher
- 1900s: Bonnie #197, Murphy #1792 — Bonnie higher
- 1910s: Bonnie #178, Murphy #3725 — Bonnie higher
- 1920s: Bonnie #117, Murphy #3379 — Bonnie higher
- 1930s: Bonnie #66, Murphy #4082 — Bonnie higher
- 1940s: Bonnie #35, Murphy #4691 — Bonnie higher
- 1950s: Bonnie #50, Murphy — — Bonnie higher
- 1960s: Bonnie #92, Murphy — — Bonnie higher
- 1970s: Bonnie #176, Murphy — — Bonnie higher
- 1980s: Bonnie #229, Murphy #6651 — Bonnie higher
- 1990s: Bonnie #570, Murphy #3490 — Bonnie higher
- 2000s: Bonnie #1150, Murphy #4980 — Bonnie higher
- 2010s: Bonnie #918, Murphy #3169 — Bonnie higher
- 2020s: Bonnie #498, Murphy #625 — Bonnie higher
Bonnie stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Bonnie | Murphy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #339 | — |
| 1890s | #233 | #1700 |
| 1900s | #197 | #1792 |
| 1910s | #178 | #3725 |
| 1920s | #117 | #3379 |
| 1930s | #66 | #4082 |
| 1940s | #35 | #4691 |
| 1950s | #50 | — |
| 1960s | #92 | — |
| 1970s | #176 | — |
| 1980s | #229 | #6651 |
| 1990s | #570 | #3490 |
| 2000s | #1150 | #4980 |
| 2010s | #918 | #3169 |
| 2020s | #498 | #625 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Bonnie
- England & Wales#16
- Scotland#32
Murphy
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
Bonnie
pretty, fine, good-looking
The Scots word, still in everyday use in Scotland, where a bonnie day and a bonnie lass are ordinary phrases rather than quaint ones.
bon → bonnie → Bonnie
How it traveled
Margaret Mitchell's novel appeared in 1936, and in it Rhett Butler's daughter is given a formal name nobody uses and a nickname everybody does. Within a few years American girls were being christened Bonnie outright, with no formal name behind it, which is the reverse of how the name works in Scotland.
Murphy
sea-warrior — from Old Irish muir (sea) and cath (battle)
Murphy is the anglicized form of Ó Murchadha and Mac Murchadha, 'descendant/son of Murchadh'. Murchadh itself is the personal name meaning sea-warrior.
Murchadh → Ó Murchadha → Murphy
How it traveled
The root is Murchadh, an Old Irish personal name compounded from muir, 'sea', and cath, 'battle'. Families descended from men of that name became Ó Murchadha and Mac Murchadha, and when Gaelic names were pushed into English spelling the whole cluster flattened into Murphy — which is why it ended up the most common surname in Ireland rather than a rare one.
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
Bonnie
BON-ee
Two syllables, weight at the front, the first with the vowel of on. Said the same way in Scotland, America and England, which is rare.
- Bon — Cut to one syllable; used inside families and rarely written.
- Bonnie Lou — A double form common in the American South, used as one unit rather than a name and a nickname.
- Nonnie — A childhood form built from the middle of the name.
Murphy
MUR-fee
Stress on the first syllable. The spelling gives no trouble on either side of the Atlantic, and the -ph- is one of the few English spellings nobody hesitates over.
- Murph — The standard short form, long used informally for people with Murphy as a surname and carried straight over to the given name; casual, used by friends and teammates.
- Murf — Same short form, phonetic spelling; less common in writing.
- Mur — Occasional clipped family nickname; rarely written down.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Bonnie if you want…
- a name that charts abroad tooBonnie is on the national lists of England & Wales and Scotland
- a long American recordBonnie was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 60% for Murphy
Choose Murphy if you want…
- a name on the way upup 578 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalMurphy entered the US charts in 1898
- a name that feels very nowMurphy is climbing the charts fast
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
Bonnie
Strengths
- It is spelled as it sounds and needs no explanation in any English-speaking country.
- It also charts in England, Wales and Scotland, so it travels without becoming strange.
- It works as a full name and as a nickname for Bonita or Yvonne, which gives a family two ways to use it.
To consider
- It is closely tied to one novel and one film for anyone over a certain age.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of boys, though it reads overwhelmingly as a girl's name.
- Bonnie and Clyde is the other association, and it is not going anywhere.
Murphy
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation are already known to nearly everyone in the US, thanks to the surname — no repeating, no correcting.
- Murph is a ready-made short form with a long history of informal use.
- Works as a family-name choice: it honors Irish ancestry directly rather than by association.
To consider
- It is a surname first, and a very common one. Expect forms, rosters and databases to occasionally file it in the wrong column, and expect some people to hear it as a last name before they hear it as a first.
- Murphy's Law is a fixed phrase in English, and a Murphy will hear the joke more than once. It is affectionate rather than unkind, but it will come.
- Most American Murphys born now are girls, so a boy carrying it may be assumed female on paper — even though the underlying Irish name was a man's. Worth knowing rather than worrying about.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Bonnie
30%chance Bonnie feels dated by 2040
Bonnie is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Murphy
60%chance Murphy feels dated by 2040
Murphy 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.
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 Bonnie and Murphy 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 Bonnie and Murphy?
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 these names appear on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Hometown favorites: names only one state loves
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
- all guides
Where Bonnie and Murphy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Bonnie or Murphy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Bonnie or Murphy?
- Bonnie, in 2025: Bonnie ranked #396 with 785 babies; Murphy ranked #397 with 783 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Bonnie or Murphy?
- Murphy. Over the last five years Bonnie moved up 210 places; Murphy moved up 578 places.
- Which is the older name, Bonnie or Murphy?
- Bonnie was already in use when US records began in 1880; Murphy entered the US charts in 1898. On the American record, Bonnie is the older name.
- How many people are named Bonnie and Murphy?
- About 215,000 people named Bonnie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,600 people named Murphy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Bonnies or Murphys in the classroom?
- Bonnie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Murphy 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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