Head to head · Girls' names
Bonnie vs Regina
#396 vs #395 in 2025
Regina is a whisker ahead (#395 vs #396 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Regina is holding its place on the charts, Bonnie is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Bonnie 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 3 measures of 6; Regina 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
- 1880s: Bonnie #339, Regina #251 — Regina higher
- 1890s: Bonnie #233, Regina #231 — Regina higher
- 1900s: Bonnie #197, Regina #208 — Bonnie higher
- 1910s: Bonnie #178, Regina #193 — Bonnie higher
- 1920s: Bonnie #117, Regina #194 — Bonnie higher
- 1930s: Bonnie #66, Regina #232 — Bonnie higher
- 1940s: Bonnie #35, Regina #194 — Bonnie higher
- 1950s: Bonnie #50, Regina #130 — Bonnie higher
- 1960s: Bonnie #92, Regina #88 — Regina higher
- 1970s: Bonnie #176, Regina #112 — Regina higher
- 1980s: Bonnie #229, Regina #197 — Regina higher
- 1990s: Bonnie #570, Regina #395 — Regina higher
- 2000s: Bonnie #1150, Regina #615 — Regina higher
- 2010s: Bonnie #918, Regina #501 — Regina higher
- 2020s: Bonnie #498, Regina #379 — Regina higher
Regina stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Regina has held the lead since the 1960s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Bonnie | Regina |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #339 | #251 |
| 1890s | #233 | #231 |
| 1900s | #197 | #208 |
| 1910s | #178 | #193 |
| 1920s | #117 | #194 |
| 1930s | #66 | #232 |
| 1940s | #35 | #194 |
| 1950s | #50 | #130 |
| 1960s | #92 | #88 |
| 1970s | #176 | #112 |
| 1980s | #229 | #197 |
| 1990s | #570 | #395 |
| 2000s | #1150 | #615 |
| 2010s | #918 | #501 |
| 2020s | #498 | #379 |
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
Regina
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.
Regina
queen
From Latin regina, queen. In Christian use it echoes Mary's title Regina Caeli, Queen of Heaven.
regina → Regina
How it traveled
The Salve Regina, Hail Holy Queen, is one of the oldest hymns to Mary, sung at the close of the day, and Columbus's journal records his crews singing it at dusk on the Atlantic. The name came from that devotion into Catholic families across Europe and America.
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.
Regina
ruh-JEE-nuh
Stress on the second syllable. The Canadian city is ruh-JY-nuh, and in German and Italian the g is hard: reh-GEE-nah.
- Gina — The most common short form, a name in its own right.
- Reggie — A lively short form, more often a boy's.
- Ina — Taken from the end; soft and quiet.
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 on the way upup 210 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesBonnie is 2 syllables to Regina's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooBonnie is on the national lists of England & Wales and Scotland
Choose Regina if you want…
- a name holding steadyRegina is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itRegina runs 3 syllables, Bonnie 2
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.
Regina
Strengths
- Its meaning, queen, is clear and dignified.
- Gina, Reggie and Ina give three different short forms.
- It is familiar across many languages.
To consider
- Many people associate it with a particular generation of women.
- The city's name is said differently, and some will make rhyming jokes about it.
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 Bonnie and Regina 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 Regina?
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
- 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 Regina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Bonnie or Regina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Bonnie or Regina?
- Regina, in 2025: Regina ranked #395 with 786 babies; Bonnie ranked #396 with 785 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Bonnie or Regina?
- Bonnie. Over the last five years Bonnie moved up 210 places; Regina moved up 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Bonnie or Regina?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Bonnie and Regina?
- About 215,000 people named Bonnie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 141,000 people named Regina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Bonnies or Reginas in the classroom?
- Bonnie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Regina 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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