Head to head · Girls' names
Dani vs Davina
#746 vs #749 in 2025
Dani is a whisker ahead (#746 vs #749 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Dani is holding its place on the charts, Davina is stepping back from its peak.
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
The tape is even: Dani and Davina each lead 3 measures of 6.
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: Dani —, Davina #4417 — Davina higher
- 1920s: Dani —, Davina #4244 — Davina higher
- 1940s: Dani #4018, Davina #3701 — Davina higher
- 1950s: Dani #1827, Davina #2977 — Dani higher
- 1960s: Dani #1338, Davina #1718 — Dani higher
- 1970s: Dani #1403, Davina #796 — Davina higher
- 1980s: Dani #1464, Davina #1030 — Davina higher
- 1990s: Dani #1523, Davina #1387 — Davina higher
- 2000s: Dani #1500, Davina #1992 — Dani higher
- 2010s: Dani #1060, Davina #1284 — Dani higher
- 2020s: Dani #735, Davina #636 — Davina higher
Davina stood higher in 7 of 11 decades; Davina took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Dani | Davina |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #4417 |
| 1920s | — | #4244 |
| 1940s | #4018 | #3701 |
| 1950s | #1827 | #2977 |
| 1960s | #1338 | #1718 |
| 1970s | #1403 | #796 |
| 1980s | #1464 | #1030 |
| 1990s | #1523 | #1387 |
| 2000s | #1500 | #1992 |
| 2010s | #1060 | #1284 |
| 2020s | #735 | #636 |
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
Dani
God is my judge
Dani is a short form rather than a name coined on its own, so it carries the meaning of the Hebrew Daniyyel (Daniel) behind it, usually by way of Danielle or Daniela.
Daniyyel → Daniel → Danielle → Daniela → Dani
How it traveled
The root is the Hebrew Daniyyel, "God is my judge", borne by the prophet of the Book of Daniel — the one in the lions' den. Daniel traveled through Greek and Latin scripture into every language of Christian Europe, and French supplied the feminine Danielle, with Italian, Spanish and German using Daniela.
Davina
Beloved
Davina is built directly on David, from Hebrew Dawid, long understood as 'beloved'. The -ina ending is a feminine suffix, not a separate element with a meaning of its own.
Dawid → David → Davina
How it traveled
David came into European use from the Hebrew Bible, and it took particularly deep root in Scotland, where two medieval kings of Scots carried it — David I in the twelfth century and David II in the fourteenth. Scottish naming custom liked to pass a father's or grandfather's name to a daughter by adding a feminine ending, which is how Davina appears in Scottish records from the seventeenth century onward, alongside sisters of the same pattern like Georgina and Williamina.
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
Dani
DAN-ee
Rhymes with Annie. Spanish and Catalan speakers stress the second syllable instead — dah-NEE — which is worth expecting in bilingual households.
- Danni — A spelling variant used interchangeably; both stand alone as given names.
- Dan — Informal clipping, most often heard within families rather than in writing.
- Dee — Informal, and used as a short form for a whole range of D names.
- Danielle — The reverse move: the full form some Danis use on documents and at work.
Davina
duh-VEE-nuh
The Scottish and British standard is duh-VEE-nuh. Some American speakers say duh-VY-nuh, with the middle syllable rhyming with 'shine'. Both are in real use, so expect to state your preference now and then.
- Vina — The most common clipped form, taken from the stressed middle syllable; also used on its own as a given name.
- Dava — Informal short form from the first half of the name.
- Dee — An initial-based nickname shared with many D names, used casually rather than on documents.
- Davie — Borrowed from the David side of the family tree; used for boys and girls alike in Scotland.
- Also Vinnie.
One short form, two names
- Dani and Davina both shorten to Dee.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Dani if you want…
- a name on the way upup 57 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesDani is 2 syllables to Davina's 3
Choose Davina if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsDavina is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itDavina runs 3 syllables, Dani 2
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
Dani
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and hard to mispronounce in English; a stranger reading it aloud will get it right the first time.
- Pairs with a longer legal name — Danielle or Daniela — if you want a formal option in reserve, or works perfectly well on its own.
- Recognized across Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, French and the Slavic languages, which few short names can claim.
To consider
- Danni, Dannie and Dannee all exist, so expect to spell it out fairly often even though people hear it correctly.
- In Spanish and Hebrew, Dani is first of all the everyday short form of Daniel and reads as a boy's name. Around bilingual family or classmates, a girl named Dani may meet that assumption now and then.
- It is a diminutive by origin, and some people treat diminutives as informal on résumés and legal papers. Having Danielle or Daniela on the birth certificate keeps both doors open.
Davina
Strengths
- Its meaning is unambiguous and easy to explain: it is David, 'beloved', in a feminine form.
- The spelling follows directly from a name almost everyone already knows, so it is usually written correctly once heard.
- Several established short forms — Vina, Dava, Dee — give a child options without needing a second name.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate: duh-VEE-nuh and duh-VY-nuh. Neither is wrong, but she will correct people occasionally, and the correction is a lifelong small habit.
- The close cousins Davinia, Davena and Davida sound similar enough that some people will reach for the wrong one when writing it down.
- The link to David is transparent, so people may assume there is a David in the family and ask about it. Fine if there is one, mildly repetitive if there isn't.
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 Dani and Davina 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 Dani and Davina?
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 these names appear on
Where Dani and Davina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Dani or Davina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Dani or Davina?
- Dani, in 2025: Dani ranked #746 with 364 babies; Davina ranked #749 with 363 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Dani or Davina?
- Dani. Over the last five years Dani moved up 57 places; Davina moved down 119 places.
- Which is the older name, Dani or Davina?
- Dani entered the US charts in 1942; Davina entered the US charts in 1916. On the American record, Davina is the older name.
- How many people are named Dani and Davina?
- About 10,000 people named Dani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 11,000 people named Davina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Dani and Davina share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Dee, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
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 Dani, Davina and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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