Head to head · Girls' names
Claire vs Zoey
#68 vs #69 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Claire is a whisker ahead (#68 vs #69 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Claire leads 4 measures of 6; Zoey 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: Claire #304, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1890s: Claire #275, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1900s: Claire #236, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1910s: Claire #208, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1920s: Claire #158, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1930s: Claire #163, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1940s: Claire #210, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1950s: Claire #261, Zoey — — Claire higher
- 1960s: Claire #406, Zoey #6042 — Claire higher
- 1970s: Claire #486, Zoey #6487 — Claire higher
- 1980s: Claire #255, Zoey #5810 — Claire higher
- 1990s: Claire #132, Zoey #1168 — Claire higher
- 2000s: Claire #82, Zoey #203 — Claire higher
- 2010s: Claire #49, Zoey #28 — Zoey higher
- 2020s: Claire #64, Zoey #49 — Zoey higher
Claire stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Zoey has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Claire | Zoey |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #304 | — |
| 1890s | #275 | — |
| 1900s | #236 | — |
| 1910s | #208 | — |
| 1920s | #158 | — |
| 1930s | #163 | — |
| 1940s | #210 | — |
| 1950s | #261 | — |
| 1960s | #406 | #6042 |
| 1970s | #486 | #6487 |
| 1980s | #255 | #5810 |
| 1990s | #132 | #1168 |
| 2000s | #82 | #203 |
| 2010s | #49 | #28 |
| 2020s | #64 | #49 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Claire
- Canada#55
Zoey
- Canada#64
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Claire
bright, clear
From a Latin adjective that meant clear or bright and then, by an easy extension, famous. The name and the words clarity and declare all descend from it, which makes the sense unusually easy to demonstrate.
clarus → Clare → Claire
How it traveled
There is a large Irish Clare that has nothing to do with any of this. County Clare takes its name from an Irish word meaning a flat place or a plank — most likely a board bridge across a river at Clarecastle — and the resemblance to the personal name is a complete coincidence of spelling.
Zoey
Life
From the Greek noun ζωή (zōē), "life." In Genesis 3:20 the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible used Ζωή to render Eve's name, which carries the sense of "living" in Hebrew — the two names are, in that sense, the same idea in two languages.
ζωή (zōē) → Ζωή / Zoe → Zoë → Zoey
How it traveled
The name begins as an ordinary Greek word and becomes a name among Greek-speaking communities of the eastern Mediterranean, including Hellenistic Jews who used it in place of Eve. It stayed in steady use in the Greek-speaking Christian world for centuries, borne by early martyrs and later by a Byzantine empress of the eleventh century, while western Europe largely left it alone until the nineteenth century brought a broad taste for Greek names.
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
Claire
KLAIR
One syllable. The i changes nothing audible in English, though French gives the vowel a slightly different quality that American speakers do not reproduce.
- Clairey — An affectionate ending added; used in childhood more than after it.
- Cee — The initial alone; short, plain and shared with a great many names.
Zoey
ZOH-ee
Stress on the first syllable, both syllables sounded. The spelling with -ey removes the ambiguity that makes some people read Zoe as a single syllable rhyming with "toe."
- Zo — The everyday clip, used at home and among friends; almost never written on anything official.
- Zozo — A reduplicated pet form typical of early childhood and family use.
- Zoey-girl — An affectionate family address rather than a true short form.
Who has carried each name
Claire
Claire Danes (b. 1979) — Homeland's Emmy-winning star
Claire Foy (b. 1984) — The Crown's young Queen Elizabeth II
Zoey
Zoey Deutch (b. 1994) — Set It Up and The Politician star
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 Claire if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesClaire is 1 syllable to Zoey's 2
- a long American recordClaire was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Zoey if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsZoey is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itZoey runs 2 syllables, Claire 1
- a newer arrivalZoey entered the US charts in 1967
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
Claire
Strengths
- One syllable, unambiguous in sound, and recognized across Europe.
- The meaning is bright and positive and easy to demonstrate from ordinary English words.
- It has stayed in use continuously rather than arriving with a fashion.
To consider
- Clare is equally standard, so the spelling will be queried for life.
- It is currently common enough that a child may not be the only one.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Zoey
Strengths
- Fully phonetic in English — the -ey ending tells readers exactly where the second syllable goes, with no accent mark to lose in forms and databases.
- The meaning is short, transparent and needs no explanation: "life," straight from Greek.
- Travels well as Zoe, Zoé or Zoi across Greek, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch, so relatives abroad will recognize it.
To consider
- Zoe, Zoey, Zoie and Zoë all coexist, so expect "is that with a Y?" for life. Choosing the spelling is choosing a small lifelong correction.
- The -ey spelling belongs almost entirely to the last few decades, so it reads as distinctly contemporary rather than heirloom — the plainer Zoe carries the older feel.
- It has come down a little from its highest point, which usually means fewer in a given classroom but a name that still sounds current to most ears.
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 Claire and Zoey 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 Claire and Zoey?
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 that carry both names
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Generation Alpha names (born 2013 onward)
- all guides
Every list here names both Claire and Zoey — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Claire or Zoey — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Claire or Zoey?
- Claire, in 2025: Claire ranked #68 with 3,487 babies; Zoey ranked #69 with 3,427 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Claire or Zoey?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Claire moved down 10 places; Zoey moved down 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Claire or Zoey?
- Claire was already in use when US records began in 1880; Zoey entered the US charts in 1967. On the American record, Claire is the older name.
- How many people are named Claire and Zoey?
- About 170,000 people named Claire are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 115,000 people named Zoey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Claires or Zoeys in the classroom?
- Claire will almost certainly be the only one in school. Zoey 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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