Head to head · Boys' names
Connor vs Jason
#166 vs #165 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Jason is a whisker ahead (#165 vs #166 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, Jason leads 5 measures of 6; Connor leads 0.
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: Connor —, Jason #412 — Jason higher
- 1890s: Connor —, Jason #599 — Jason higher
- 1900s: Connor —, Jason #709 — Jason higher
- 1910s: Connor #3353, Jason #639 — Jason higher
- 1920s: Connor #3316, Jason #640 — Jason higher
- 1930s: Connor #3381, Jason #634 — Jason higher
- 1940s: Connor #3198, Jason #565 — Jason higher
- 1950s: Connor #3351, Jason #395 — Jason higher
- 1960s: Connor #3155, Jason #139 — Jason higher
- 1970s: Connor #2500, Jason #4 — Jason higher
- 1980s: Connor #643, Jason #15 — Jason higher
- 1990s: Connor #81, Jason #44 — Jason higher
- 2000s: Connor #49, Jason #50 — Connor higher
- 2010s: Connor #56, Jason #83 — Connor higher
- 2020s: Connor #120, Jason #142 — Connor higher
Jason stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Connor has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Connor | Jason |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #412 |
| 1890s | — | #599 |
| 1900s | — | #709 |
| 1910s | #3353 | #639 |
| 1920s | #3316 | #640 |
| 1930s | #3381 | #634 |
| 1940s | #3198 | #565 |
| 1950s | #3351 | #395 |
| 1960s | #3155 | #139 |
| 1970s | #2500 | #4 |
| 1980s | #643 | #15 |
| 1990s | #81 | #44 |
| 2000s | #49 | #50 |
| 2010s | #56 | #83 |
| 2020s | #120 | #142 |
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
Connor
From Irish Conchobhar; the first element is cú, "hound" or "wolf"
The hound element is agreed on. The second, cobhar, is not: it is read either as "desiring" — giving "lover of hounds" or "wolf-lover", the version most often printed — or as "aid, help", giving something closer to "hound of aid". Both are serious readings by Irish scholars, and neither has won.
Conchobar → Conchobhar → Ó Conchobhair / O'Connor → Conor → Connor
How it traveled
Conchobhar was in use in Ireland well before the Norman arrival, borne by kings of Connacht; the last High King of Ireland belonged to the Ua Conchobhair line in the twelfth century, and it is from that family name that the surname O'Connor descends. Irish legend also gives the name to Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster in the tales of the Ulster Cycle, which is why the name turns up in so much retold Irish literature.
Jason
healer
Greek Iason is generally derived from iasthai, to heal — the same root as the word for a physician — which fits a hero whose tutor was the centaur Chiron, a healer. The derivation is standard. Separately, Jews under Greek rule frequently took a Greek name that resembled their Hebrew one, and Jason was the usual substitute for Yehoshua. A Jason appears in the New Testament as Paul's host in Thessalonica, and he is almost certainly one of those.
Iason → Jason
How it traveled
The Argonaut story is one of the oldest in Greek literature — older than the Iliad in its bones — and it is not a flattering one about its hero: Jason gets the fleece because Medea does the difficult parts, then abandons her, and the play about what she does next is still performed constantly. The name reached English through the New Testament rather than the myth, stayed rare for centuries, and then became one of the most-used American men's names within about fifteen years in the middle of the last century.
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
Connor
KON-er
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with "honor" in most American accents. The older Irish spelling Conchobhar is not pronounced like the English version at all.
- Con — The usual informal short form; also an ordinary English word, which some families weigh before using it.
- Conn — The doubled spelling is itself an old Irish given name and is sometimes registered on its own.
- Connie — An older short form, now more often heard as a woman's name in English.
- Conno — A playground and sports-team form, common in Ireland, Britain and Australia.
Jason
JAY-sun
JAY-sun, two syllables, stress at the front, the second vowel reduced. Greek said it with three, ee-AH-sohn, and the weight in the middle — the English name is a considerable simplification of the original.
- Jay — The front clipped, and a complete working name; the short form most Jasons use.
- Jace — Built from the front with the s pulled forward, and a standing name of its own.
- Sonny — Built from the back, and used within families rather than outside them.
Who has carried each name
Connor
Connor McDavid (b. 1997) — The best hockey player of his generation
Jason
Jason Momoa (b. 1979) — Aquaman
Jason Bateman (b. 1969) — Ozark and Arrested Development star
Jason Statham (b. 1967) — Action cinema's go-to tough guy
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 Connor if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsConnor is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalConnor entered the US charts in 1913
- a name that feels very nowConnor is stepping back from its peak
Choose Jason if you want…
- a long American recordJason was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 25% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 77% for Connor
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
Connor
Strengths
- A spelling nearly every English speaker reads correctly at first glance, and one no one has to spell out over the phone in a general sense.
- Documented in Ireland since the early medieval period — an unbroken line from Conchobhar through the O'Connor surname to the modern first name.
- In steady use across the United States, Ireland, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, so it travels without translation.
To consider
- Connor, Conor and Conner all sound identical, so expect a lifetime of light corrections. Choosing the spelling you like best and saying it clearly the first time solves most of it.
- Most people carrying the name in America are young adults right now, so it reads to many ears as belonging to a particular stretch of years rather than as a neutral classic.
- "Con" as a short form doubles as an English word with an unhelpful sense. Plenty of families simply skip it and use the full name.
Jason
Strengths
- The meaning is a healer, which is among the better things a name can say.
- Jay and Jace are both complete short forms in different registers.
- It has both a Greek myth and a New Testament bearer behind it, which is an unusual pair.
To consider
- A very great many people carry it, so a Jason will rarely be the only one in a workplace.
- It is very closely tied to one American generation and dates a person about as precisely as a name can.
- The mythological Jason behaves badly in the best-known version of his story, which anyone reading the play will notice.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Connor
77%chance Connor feels dated by 2040
Connor is coming down from a big peak (#38 in 2004). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Jason
25%chance Jason feels dated by 2040
Jason 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 Connor and Jason 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 Connor and Jason?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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
- Beloved classics quietly disappearing
- Names with a double letter
- Y2K names: the class of the 2000s
- Irish names beyond St. Patrick's Day
- all guides
Where Connor and Jason each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Connor or Jason — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Connor or Jason?
- Jason, in 2025: Jason ranked #165 with 2,224 babies; Connor ranked #166 with 2,211 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Connor or Jason?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Connor moved down 88 places; Jason moved down 46 places.
- Which is the older name, Connor or Jason?
- Connor entered the US charts in 1913; Jason was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Jason is the older name.
- How many people are named Connor and Jason?
- About 231,000 people named Connor are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 979,000 people named Jason are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Connors or Jasons in the classroom?
- Connor will almost certainly be the only one in school. Jason 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Connor, Jason and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap