Head to head · Girls' names
Daisy vs Maeve
#75 vs #76 in 2025
Daisy is a whisker ahead (#75 vs #76 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Daisy is back after a long quiet spell, Maeve is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Maeve 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, Daisy leads 5 measures of 6; Maeve 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: Daisy #59, Maeve — — Daisy higher
- 1890s: Daisy #83, Maeve — — Daisy higher
- 1900s: Daisy #90, Maeve — — Daisy higher
- 1910s: Daisy #129, Maeve — — Daisy higher
- 1920s: Daisy #166, Maeve — — Daisy higher
- 1930s: Daisy #196, Maeve — — Daisy higher
- 1940s: Daisy #269, Maeve #3869 — Daisy higher
- 1950s: Daisy #387, Maeve #4478 — Daisy higher
- 1960s: Daisy #519, Maeve #4635 — Daisy higher
- 1970s: Daisy #563, Maeve #5712 — Daisy higher
- 1980s: Daisy #287, Maeve #3129 — Daisy higher
- 1990s: Daisy #161, Maeve #1453 — Daisy higher
- 2000s: Daisy #148, Maeve #678 — Daisy higher
- 2010s: Daisy #175, Maeve #442 — Daisy higher
- 2020s: Daisy #110, Maeve #104 — Maeve higher
Daisy stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Maeve took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Daisy | Maeve |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #59 | — |
| 1890s | #83 | — |
| 1900s | #90 | — |
| 1910s | #129 | — |
| 1920s | #166 | — |
| 1930s | #196 | — |
| 1940s | #269 | #3869 |
| 1950s | #387 | #4478 |
| 1960s | #519 | #4635 |
| 1970s | #563 | #5712 |
| 1980s | #287 | #3129 |
| 1990s | #161 | #1453 |
| 2000s | #148 | #678 |
| 2010s | #175 | #442 |
| 2020s | #110 | #104 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Daisy
- England & Wales#18
- Scotland#26
Maeve
- Scotland#23
- England & Wales#26
- Canada#46
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Daisy
The daisy flower
From the flower's name, Old English dæges eage, 'day's eye'. Daisy was also long used as a nickname for Margaret.
dæges eage → daisy → Daisy
How it traveled
Daisy spread in the nineteenth century both as a flower name and as a nickname for Margaret. Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, known to her family all her life as Daisy, founded the Girl Scouts in 1912, and the youngest Girl Scouts are still called Daisies after her.
Maeve
intoxicating, she who intoxicates
The Old Irish medb comes from the same root as the word for mead, the honey wine; the name is usually rendered "she who intoxicates" or "the intoxicating one."
Medb → Meadhbh → Méabh → Maeve
How it traveled
The name begins in Ireland as Medb, spelled Meadhbh in later Irish and Méabh in the modern simplified orthography. Its most famous bearer is the Medb of the Ulster Cycle, the Connacht queen whose demand for a prize bull sets the Táin Bó Cúailnge in motion — a story preserved in Irish manuscripts from the twelfth century onward.
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
Daisy
DAY-zee
Two syllables, stress on the first.
- Dais — Informal clipping.
Maeve
MAYV
One syllable, rhyming with cave and wave. The Irish spellings Méabh and Meadhbh are said the same way, which is why the anglicized form works so smoothly for English speakers.
- Mae — The most common short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Maevie — Affectionate and家 family-level; used with young children rather than in writing.
- Mave — Informal, sometimes just the way the full name gets clipped in speech.
Who has carried each name
Daisy
Daisy Ridley (b. 1992) — Star Wars' Rey
Daisy Edgar-Jones (b. 1998) — Star of Normal People and Where the Crawdads Sing
Maeve
Maeve Binchy (b. 1939) — Beloved Irish storyteller (Circle of Friends)
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 Daisy if you want…
- a name that stays wholeone recorded short form for Daisy (Dais)
- a long American recordDaisy was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 59% for Maeve
Choose Maeve if you want…
- a name on the way upup 98 places on the charts in five years
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Mae, Maevie and Mave
- a name that charts abroad tooMaeve is on the national lists of Scotland, England & Wales and Canada
- a newer arrivalMaeve entered the US charts in 1940
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
Daisy
Strengths
- Instantly recognized and spelled the way everyone expects.
- A long American history with a strong modern return.
- A cheerful flower name with a real founder's story behind it.
To consider
- It is common again, so a Daisy may share her name with a classmate.
- Some people still hear it as a nickname and ask for the full name.
- For a boy it would be very unusual.
Maeve
Strengths
- Short and phonetic: an English reader gets it right on sight, without needing the Irish spelling explained.
- One syllable, so it needs no nickname to be usable — though Mae is there if a family wants one.
- A documented record stretching back to medieval Irish manuscripts, which is a longer paper trail than most names on the charts.
To consider
- It is climbing quickly. A child born now is unlikely to share a classroom with another Maeve, but the name will be more familiar by the time she is grown.
- Expect occasional misspellings — Mave, Maive, Meave — and the Irish forms Méabh and Meadhbh may come up if your family has ties to Ireland.
- The queen Medb of the Táin is a fierce, war-starting figure. Some parents love that; it is worth knowing the story before someone else tells you about it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Daisy
30%chance Daisy feels dated by 2040
Daisy is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Maeve
59%chance Maeve feels dated by 2040
Maeve is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
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 Daisy and Maeve 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 Daisy and Maeve?
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
Every list here names both Daisy and Maeve — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Daisy or Maeve — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Daisy or Maeve?
- Daisy, in 2025: Daisy ranked #75 with 3,206 babies; Maeve ranked #76 with 3,153 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Daisy or Maeve?
- Maeve. Over the last five years Daisy moved up 68 places; Maeve moved up 98 places.
- Which is the older name, Daisy or Maeve?
- Daisy was already in use when US records began in 1880; Maeve entered the US charts in 1940. On the American record, Daisy is the older name.
- How many people are named Daisy and Maeve?
- About 101,000 people named Daisy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,500 people named Maeve are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Daisys or Maeves in the classroom?
- Daisy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maeve 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Daisy, Maeve and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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