Head to head · Boys' names
Brayden vs Simon
#229 vs #230 in 2025
Brayden is a whisker ahead (#229 vs #230 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Brayden is stepping back from its peak, Simon is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Simon 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, Brayden leads 4 measures of 6; Simon 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: Brayden —, Simon #161 — Simon higher
- 1890s: Brayden —, Simon #197 — Simon higher
- 1900s: Brayden —, Simon #219 — Simon higher
- 1910s: Brayden —, Simon #251 — Simon higher
- 1920s: Brayden —, Simon #321 — Simon higher
- 1930s: Brayden —, Simon #383 — Simon higher
- 1940s: Brayden —, Simon #433 — Simon higher
- 1950s: Brayden —, Simon #501 — Simon higher
- 1960s: Brayden —, Simon #525 — Simon higher
- 1970s: Brayden #3991, Simon #421 — Simon higher
- 1980s: Brayden #2467, Simon #355 — Simon higher
- 1990s: Brayden #569, Simon #341 — Simon higher
- 2000s: Brayden #105, Simon #252 — Brayden higher
- 2010s: Brayden #61, Simon #247 — Brayden higher
- 2020s: Brayden #162, Simon #245 — Brayden higher
Simon stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Brayden has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Brayden | Simon |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #161 |
| 1890s | — | #197 |
| 1900s | — | #219 |
| 1910s | — | #251 |
| 1920s | — | #321 |
| 1930s | — | #383 |
| 1940s | — | #433 |
| 1950s | — | #501 |
| 1960s | — | #525 |
| 1970s | #3991 | #421 |
| 1980s | #2467 | #355 |
| 1990s | #569 | #341 |
| 2000s | #105 | #252 |
| 2010s | #61 | #247 |
| 2020s | #162 | #245 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Brayden
Not charting outside the US.
Simon
- France#50
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Brayden
from a valley place name, or an Irish surname
The ending is Old English: a den or dene is a valley, usually a wooded one with a stream in it, and it closes a great many English place names and the surnames taken from them. Hayden is a hay valley; Camden and Marsden are others of the same kind. An Irish route is also available, from a surname built on a word for a salmon. Which of the two a modern American Brayden descends from is not usually recoverable, and for most families the answer is neither: the name was chosen for its sound.
Old English denu, a wooded valley, closes English place names → an Irish surname supplies a second possible route → Brayden appears in the American record around 1970 → sits almost flat for a generation → climbs to the top of the charts in the 2000s
How it traveled
The rise is the interesting part. A name that has been available for decades without moving suddenly becomes the fashion, not on its own merits but because it rhymes with something that is already fashionable.
Simon
he has heard, or listening
The Hebrew source is Shim'on, from a root meaning to hear or listen. Worth knowing: an unrelated Greek name Simon already existed, from a word meaning snub-nosed, and the two collided in the Greek-speaking world. The Hebrew line is the one that carried the name onward.
Shim'on → Symeon → Simon (Greek) → Simon (Latin) → Simon
How it traveled
The name begins as the Hebrew Shim'on, which the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered as Symeon. In the Greek of the New Testament it appears in the trimmer form Simon, and because it belonged to several prominent figures there, it traveled wherever those texts traveled.
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
Brayden
BRAY-dun
Two syllables, stress at the front, and a second syllable with no identifiable vowel — which is why the record carries it spelled with an e, an o and an i in that position.
- Bray — The front alone, and an English word about the noise a donkey makes.
- Brady — A neighboring name used as a short form, and a full name of its own.
- Den — The ending; short, and an English word for a room.
Simon
SY-mun
Stress on the first syllable in English. French speakers say it roughly see-MOHN, and the Italian Simone is three syllables, see-MOH-nay — a masculine name there, unlike the French feminine Simone.
- Si — The oldest and most common short form in English, informal, used within families more than in writing.
- Sim — An informal clipping with a long history in English; also survives as a surname element.
- Simmy — Affectionate and mostly used with young children.
- Simo — Heard chiefly in British and Australian informal speech, often among friends and teammates.
Who has carried each name
Brayden
No documented entry for Brayden yet.
Simon
Simon Cowell (b. 1959) — American Idol's famously blunt judge
Simon Pegg (b. 1970) — Shaun of the Dead star
Simon Wiesenthal (b. 1908) — Holocaust survivor who spent his life bringing war criminals to justice
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Brayden if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsBrayden is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalBrayden entered the US charts in 1970
- a name that feels very nowBrayden is stepping back from its peak
Choose Simon if you want…
- a name on the way upup 19 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooSimon is on the national lists of France
- a long American recordSimon was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 25% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 78% for Brayden
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
Brayden
Strengths
- It is completely readable at sight and nobody ever needs help with it.
- It works for a child of either sex, though the record leans heavily one way.
- Brady is available as a short form and is a complete name in its own right.
To consider
- It is one of the most precisely dated names of its decade and will place him immediately.
- Braden and Braydon are both common and the spelling will need saying every time.
- He will share the sound, if not the spelling, with a great many boys of his own age.
Simon
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and already familiar to English speakers, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- Works nearly unchanged in French, German, Spanish, Hungarian and Hebrew, which makes it easy to carry across languages and families.
- Two syllables with clear consonants — short enough not to need a nickname, with Si and Sim available if one is wanted.
To consider
- Simon says is a playground game and Simple Simon an old English nursery rhyme, so the name comes with a couple of ready-made jokes. They tend to surface in early primary school and fade quickly.
- The Italian and French relatives cause occasional mix-ups: Simone reads as feminine to most American ears, and forms sent from abroad sometimes arrive spelled that way.
- Some readers will think first of one very well-known television judge, which colors the name for adults more than for children.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Brayden
78%chance Brayden feels dated by 2040
Brayden is coming down from a big peak (#36 in 2011). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Simon
25%chance Simon feels dated by 2040
Simon peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
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 Brayden and Simon 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
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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
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- Names ending in -den / -don
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- all guides
Where Brayden and Simon each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Brayden or Simon — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Brayden or Simon?
- Brayden, in 2025: Brayden ranked #229 with 1,545 babies; Simon ranked #230 with 1,529 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Brayden or Simon?
- Simon. Over the last five years Brayden moved down 118 places; Simon moved up 19 places.
- Which is the older name, Brayden or Simon?
- Brayden entered the US charts in 1970; Simon was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Simon is the older name.
- How many people are named Brayden and Simon?
- About 135,000 people named Brayden are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 57,000 people named Simon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Braydens or Simons in the classroom?
- Brayden will almost certainly be the only one in school. Simon 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
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