Head to head · Boys' names
Connor vs Jayce
#166 vs #167 in 2025
Connor is a whisker ahead (#166 vs #167 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Connor is stepping back from its peak, Jayce is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Jayce 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, Connor leads 5 measures of 6; Jayce 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
- 1910s: Connor #3353, Jayce — — Connor higher
- 1920s: Connor #3316, Jayce — — Connor higher
- 1930s: Connor #3381, Jayce — — Connor higher
- 1940s: Connor #3198, Jayce — — Connor higher
- 1950s: Connor #3351, Jayce #2811 — Jayce higher
- 1960s: Connor #3155, Jayce #3487 — Connor higher
- 1970s: Connor #2500, Jayce #4060 — Connor higher
- 1980s: Connor #643, Jayce #2538 — Connor higher
- 1990s: Connor #81, Jayce #1155 — Connor higher
- 2000s: Connor #49, Jayce #485 — Connor higher
- 2010s: Connor #56, Jayce #172 — Connor higher
- 2020s: Connor #120, Jayce #161 — Connor higher
Connor stood higher in 11 of 12 decades; Connor has held the lead since the 1960s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Connor | Jayce |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3353 | — |
| 1920s | #3316 | — |
| 1930s | #3381 | — |
| 1940s | #3198 | — |
| 1950s | #3351 | #2811 |
| 1960s | #3155 | #3487 |
| 1970s | #2500 | #4060 |
| 1980s | #643 | #2538 |
| 1990s | #81 | #1155 |
| 2000s | #49 | #485 |
| 2010s | #56 | #172 |
| 2020s | #120 | #161 |
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.
Jayce
Not settled — most often explained as a short form of Jason, 'healer'
Two readings compete. One traces Jayce through Jace back to Jason, from Greek Iasōn, connected to iasthai, 'to heal'. The other treats it as an independent American coinage — the sound of the initials J.C. written out, or simply Jay extended with the -ce ending that Bryce and Chase already carried. No single account has won, and reference works list both.
Jace → Jayce
How it traveled
Jayce is the -ay- spelling of Jace, and Jace is an American name of the modern era rather than an inheritance from any older language. Its rise belongs to the same broad movement that lifted Jayden, Jaxon and Jaylen — a preference for short, hard-edged, one-syllable boys' names built from a Jay- opening.
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.
Jayce
JAYSS
One syllable, rhyming with face. There is no competing pronunciation — the only regular confusion is written, between Jayce, Jace and Jaycee.
- Jay — The natural short form, and a long-established given name in its own right across generations.
- J — Initial-only, informal, used among friends and siblings.
- Jayce-man — Family-level affectionate extension rather than anything used outside the house.
Who has carried each name
Connor
Connor McDavid (b. 1997) — The best hockey player of his generation
Jayce
No documented entry for Jayce yet.
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 name with more sound in itConnor runs 2 syllables, Jayce 1
- a name that feels very nowConnor is stepping back from its peak
Choose Jayce if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesJayce is 1 syllable to Connor's 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% 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.
Jayce
Strengths
- One syllable and phonetically transparent — anyone who reads English will say it right the first time.
- Jay works as a ready-made short form and stands on its own as a given name.
- The -ayce ending is already familiar to American eyes from Bryce, so it reads as a name rather than an invention.
To consider
- Jace, Jayce and Jaycee all sound identical, so he will spend a lifetime saying which spelling. It is a one-second correction, but a frequent one.
- This name's wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is still young. That will feel different at twenty-five than at five, though every generation's names go through the same passage.
- It sits inside a large sound family — Jace, Jaxon, Jayden and the rest. Repeated together in a classroom or a family, they can blur.
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.
Jayce
40%chance Jayce feels dated by 2040
Jayce sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
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 Jayce 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 Jayce?
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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
- Names with a double letter
- Y2K names: the class of the 2000s
- Irish names beyond St. Patrick's Day
- all guides
Where Connor and Jayce each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Connor or Jayce — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Connor or Jayce?
- Connor, in 2025: Connor ranked #166 with 2,211 babies; Jayce ranked #167 with 2,199 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Connor or Jayce?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Connor moved down 88 places; Jayce moved down 17 places.
- Which is the older name, Connor or Jayce?
- Connor entered the US charts in 1913; Jayce entered the US charts in 1956. On the American record, Connor is the older name.
- How many people are named Connor and Jayce?
- About 231,000 people named Connor are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 45,000 people named Jayce are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Connors or Jayces in the classroom?
- Connor will almost certainly be the only one in school. Jayce 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
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