Head to head · Girls' names
Cleo vs Jimena
#577 vs #578 in 2025
Cleo is a whisker ahead (#577 vs #578 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Cleo is back after a long quiet spell, Jimena 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
On the charts, Cleo leads 5 measures of 6; Jimena 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: Cleo #351, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1890s: Cleo #255, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1900s: Cleo #198, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1910s: Cleo #193, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1920s: Cleo #228, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1930s: Cleo #308, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1940s: Cleo #517, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1950s: Cleo #852, Jimena — — Cleo higher
- 1960s: Cleo #1561, Jimena #6564 — Cleo higher
- 1970s: Cleo #2444, Jimena #7995 — Cleo higher
- 1980s: Cleo #3025, Jimena #5835 — Cleo higher
- 1990s: Cleo #2705, Jimena #3190 — Cleo higher
- 2000s: Cleo #2746, Jimena #680 — Jimena higher
- 2010s: Cleo #1736, Jimena #439 — Jimena higher
- 2020s: Cleo #688, Jimena #514 — Jimena higher
Cleo stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Jimena has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Cleo | Jimena |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #351 | — |
| 1890s | #255 | — |
| 1900s | #198 | — |
| 1910s | #193 | — |
| 1920s | #228 | — |
| 1930s | #308 | — |
| 1940s | #517 | — |
| 1950s | #852 | — |
| 1960s | #1561 | #6564 |
| 1970s | #2444 | #7995 |
| 1980s | #3025 | #5835 |
| 1990s | #2705 | #3190 |
| 2000s | #2746 | #680 |
| 2010s | #1736 | #439 |
| 2020s | #688 | #514 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Cleo
glory, fame (from Greek kleos)
Cleo is the shortened form of Cleopatra, built from Greek kleos, 'glory', plus patros, 'of the father' — so the full name reads roughly 'glory of her father'.
Kleos (Greek: glory) → Kleopatra → Cleopatra → Cleo
How it traveled
The root is the Greek noun kleos, 'glory', which fed a whole family of ancient names: Kleopatra for women, Kleon and Kleopas for men, and Kleio — the Muse of history, whose name comes to English as Clio. Kleopatra traveled through the Macedonian rulers of Egypt, the last of whom made it one of the most repeated names in the ancient world.
Jimena
Not established
Jimena is the feminine of the medieval name Ximeno, and the meaning of that name is genuinely disputed. One reading connects it to Basque seme, 'son'; another treats Ximeno as a Basque and Navarrese reshaping of Simeon, the Hebrew name usually read as 'he has heard'. Neither has won. What is not in doubt is the geography: the name belongs to medieval Navarre and Castile, where kings, bishops and noblewomen carried it in its many spellings.
Ximeno → Ximena → Jimena
How it traveled
The name begins in the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain, where Ximeno and its feminine Ximena appear repeatedly in medieval charters from Navarre, Aragón and Castile. Its most famous bearer, Jimena Díaz, was married to El Cid and appears as Doña Ximena in the Cantar de mio Cid, the great Castilian epic set down in writing around 1200.
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
Cleo
KLEE-oh
Two syllables, stress on the first. The French Cléo sounds essentially the same, so the name survives a border crossing intact.
- Cleo — Already the short form of Cleopatra, and now used as a full given name in its own right; it generally travels without further shortening.
Jimena
hee-MEH-nah
The Spanish J is a soft breathy h, and the stress falls on the middle syllable. English speakers who have not seen the name often try 'juh-MEE-nah' on first reading; one correction usually settles it. The Ximena spelling is pronounced identically.
- Jime — The standard informal short form in Spanish-speaking families; pronounced HEE-meh, not like the English name Jim.
- Mena — Used affectionately, and readable to English speakers who stumble over the opening J.
- Jimenita — The Spanish diminutive, used within families and mostly with young children.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Cleo if you want…
- a name on the way upup 304 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesCleo is 2 syllables to Jimena's 3
- a name that stays wholeone recorded short form for Cleo (Cleo)
- a long American recordCleo was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Jimena if you want…
- a name holding steadyJimena is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itJimena runs 3 syllables, Cleo 2
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Jime, Mena and Jimenita
- a newer arrivalJimena entered the US charts in 1966
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
Cleo
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and spelled the way it sounds — four letters that rarely need repeating.
- On US records continuously since records began, which gives it a long, unbroken track rather than a recent invention's uncertainty.
- Recognizable across French, Italian, Greek and Spanish-speaking contexts with little or no adjustment.
To consider
- Cleopatra is a very large shadow for a small name. Most people will make the connection instantly, which is either a pleasure or a tiring joke depending on the year.
- Expect Clio and Chloe as spoken and written mix-ups. Both are close enough that spelling out C-L-E-O will become routine.
- The name is still strongly represented among much older generations, so in some families it will read as a name from a great-grandmother's era — part of why it is being picked up again.
Jimena
Strengths
- A documented medieval history, from Navarrese charters to the Cantar de mio Cid, and continuous use in Spanish ever since.
- Works in both Spanish and English mouths without being translated or altered — only the J needs explaining.
- Comes with ready-made short forms already in real use: Jime, Mena, Jimenita.
To consider
- Outside Spanish-speaking settings, the J will be misread as an English J for life. Most Jimenas develop a quick, unbothered way of saying it, but the correction never quite stops.
- Jimena and Ximena are the same name and both are in American use, so mail, forms and school lists will sometimes arrive with the other spelling. Worth deciding which one you want and holding to it.
- The name's American wave is recent, so nearly everyone carrying it here is young. That means no built-in generational association either way — a blank slate rather than a hand-me-down.
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 Cleo and Jimena 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 Cleo and Jimena?
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 head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
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- all guides
Where Cleo and Jimena each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Cleo or Jimena — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Cleo or Jimena?
- Cleo, in 2025: Cleo ranked #577 with 516 babies; Jimena ranked #578 with 515 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Cleo or Jimena?
- Cleo. Over the last five years Cleo moved up 304 places; Jimena moved down 65 places.
- Which is the older name, Cleo or Jimena?
- Cleo was already in use when US records began in 1880; Jimena entered the US charts in 1966. On the American record, Cleo is the older name.
- How many people are named Cleo and Jimena?
- About 10,000 people named Cleo are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,000 people named Jimena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Cleos or Jimenas in the classroom?
- Cleo will almost certainly be the only one in school. Jimena will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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