Head to head · Girls' names
Dani vs Maisy
#746 vs #745 in 2025
Maisy is a whisker ahead (#745 vs #746 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Maisy is climbing the charts fast, Dani 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
The tape is even: Dani and Maisy 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
- 1940s: Dani #4018, Maisy — — Dani higher
- 1950s: Dani #1827, Maisy — — Dani higher
- 1960s: Dani #1338, Maisy — — Dani higher
- 1970s: Dani #1403, Maisy — — Dani higher
- 1980s: Dani #1464, Maisy — — Dani higher
- 1990s: Dani #1523, Maisy #8137 — Dani higher
- 2000s: Dani #1500, Maisy #2528 — Dani higher
- 2010s: Dani #1060, Maisy #1514 — Dani higher
- 2020s: Dani #735, Maisy #912 — Dani higher
Dani stood higher in every recorded decade — 9 of 9.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Dani | Maisy |
|---|---|---|
| 1940s | #4018 | — |
| 1950s | #1827 | — |
| 1960s | #1338 | — |
| 1970s | #1403 | — |
| 1980s | #1464 | — |
| 1990s | #1523 | #8137 |
| 2000s | #1500 | #2528 |
| 2010s | #1060 | #1514 |
| 2020s | #735 | #912 |
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.
Maisy
pearl
Maisy carries the meaning of Margaret, from Greek margarites, "pearl". The route runs through Mairead, the Gaelic form of Margaret, which gave Scotland the pet forms Maisie and Mysie.
Margarites → Margaret → Mairead → Maisie → Maisy
How it traveled
Margaret arrived in Scotland with the medieval church and became Mairead in Gaelic, and Mairead in everyday Scots speech wore down to Maisie and Mysie. Those short forms broke free and were used as full names, which is how Henry James could title a novel with one in 1897.
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.
Maisy
MAY-zee
Stress on the first syllable; the s sounds like a z, as in Daisy. There is only one accepted way to say it, which spares a lifetime of corrections on that front.
- Mae — The most natural clipping, and a long-established given name on its own.
- Maise — Informal, mostly spoken rather than written.
- Maze — Playground-level informal, used by friends more than family.
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 holding steadyDani is holding its place on the charts
Choose Maisy if you want…
- a name on the way upup 386 places on the charts in five years
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.
Maisy
Strengths
- Instantly sayable in English: two syllables, a familiar rhyme in Daisy, and no pronunciation ambiguity to correct.
- Sits at the end of a long documented line — Margaret to Mairead to Maisie — so it has formal ancestry without sounding formal.
- Related forms exist across most of Europe: Marguerite, Margarita, Greta, Mairead.
To consider
- Maisie is the older and more widely known spelling, so expect to say "with a y" fairly often, and to see it written the other way by people acting in good faith.
- It shares its shape with Macy, Maci and Daisy, all in use at once. Some mishearing comes with the territory.
- Maisy is a pet form by origin, with no longer version behind it unless you register Margaret and use Maisy at home. Some parents like that flexibility; others prefer the short name to be the real one.
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 Maisy 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 Maisy?
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.
Dani or Maisy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Dani or Maisy?
- Maisy, in 2025: Maisy ranked #745 with 365 babies; Dani ranked #746 with 364 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Dani or Maisy?
- Maisy. Over the last five years Dani moved up 57 places; Maisy moved up 386 places.
- Which is the older name, Dani or Maisy?
- Dani entered the US charts in 1942; Maisy entered the US charts in 1991. On the American record, Dani is the older name.
- How many people are named Dani and Maisy?
- About 10,000 people named Dani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,200 people named Maisy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Danis or Maisys in the classroom?
- Dani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Maisy 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 Dani, Maisy and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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