Head to head · Boys' names
Dante vs Remington
#308 vs #307 in 2025
Remington is a whisker ahead (#307 vs #308 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Remington is stepping back from its peak, Dante is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Dante 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, Dante leads 3 measures of 6; Remington leads 2.
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
- 1900s: Dante #1067, Remington — — Dante higher
- 1910s: Dante #796, Remington — — Dante higher
- 1920s: Dante #730, Remington — — Dante higher
- 1930s: Dante #1206, Remington — — Dante higher
- 1940s: Dante #1204, Remington — — Dante higher
- 1950s: Dante #1024, Remington #3886 — Dante higher
- 1960s: Dante #695, Remington — — Dante higher
- 1970s: Dante #479, Remington #5845 — Dante higher
- 1980s: Dante #407, Remington #1281 — Dante higher
- 1990s: Dante #297, Remington #865 — Dante higher
- 2000s: Dante #268, Remington #785 — Dante higher
- 2010s: Dante #301, Remington #338 — Dante higher
- 2020s: Dante #311, Remington #263 — Remington higher
Dante stood higher in 12 of 13 decades; Remington took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Dante | Remington |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | #1067 | — |
| 1910s | #796 | — |
| 1920s | #730 | — |
| 1930s | #1206 | — |
| 1940s | #1204 | — |
| 1950s | #1024 | #3886 |
| 1960s | #695 | — |
| 1970s | #479 | #5845 |
| 1980s | #407 | #1281 |
| 1990s | #297 | #865 |
| 2000s | #268 | #785 |
| 2010s | #301 | #338 |
| 2020s | #311 | #263 |
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
Dante
enduring, lasting
Dante is a contracted form of the Italian name Durante, which comes from Latin durans, durante — 'enduring'.
Durans (Latin) → Durante (Italian) → Dante
How it traveled
The name begins as Latin durans, 'enduring', which gave medieval Italy the given name Durante; Dante is the clipped everyday version of it. Its fame rests on one man: Durante degli Alighieri of Florence, known to everyone as Dante, who finished the Divine Comedy in the early fourteenth century and in doing so helped fix the Tuscan dialect as the Italian language.
Remington
from an English place name: 'farmstead by the boundary stream'
The place is Rimington in Lancashire, built from Old English rima, 'rim, edge, border', and tūn, 'farmstead, settlement'. As with almost all surname-names, the meaning belongs to the village, not to any quality of a person.
Rimington (Lancashire place name) → Remington (English surname) → Remington (American given name)
How it traveled
The trail starts with a small settlement in Lancashire, named for its position on a boundary — the edge of one holding, the beginning of another. Families who came from there carried the place with them as a surname, and the surname sailed to North America, where it attached itself to two enterprises that made it a household word: the arms company founded by Eliphalet Remington in 1816, and the writing machine sold under the Remington name from the 1870s, the one that gave the world the QWERTY keyboard.
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
Dante
DAHN-tay
DAHN-tay follows the Italian and is the standard American pronunciation. An older English tradition said the poet's name as DAN-tee, and you will still hear that from readers who met the name first in print.
- Dan — The most common informal clip; also a standalone given name in its own right, usually from Daniel.
- Danny — Informal and often used within families; more common for children than for adults.
- D — Initial-only nickname, mostly among friends and teammates rather than at home.
- Tay — Informal, drawn from the second syllable; used within families rather than publicly.
Remington
REM-ing-tun
Stress on the first syllable. There is only one pronunciation in English, and the spelling gives it away, so it is rarely said wrong.
- Remi — The most common short form in American use, for boys and girls alike; also an independent given name in its own right, from the French Rémi.
- Remy — Same short form, the spelling more often seen for boys; likewise stands alone as a full name.
- Rem — A clipped, informal one-syllable version used at home and among friends.
- Remmy — Informal and affectionate, mostly used by family in the early years.
- Also Ronnie.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Dante if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesDante is 2 syllables to Remington's 3
Choose Remington if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRemington is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itRemington runs 3 syllables, Dante 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
Dante
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English — one spelling that works across all of them.
- Short and fully pronounceable as it stands, so no nickname is required, though Dan and Danny are ready if wanted.
- A documented literary anchor in Dante Alighieri, which gives the name a story most people already half-know.
To consider
- Two live pronunciations exist: DAHN-tay and the older bookish DAN-tee. Most Americans reach for DAHN-tay, but expect the occasional correction.
- The literary association runs strong toward the Inferno, and 'Dante's inferno' turns up in film, games and jokes. Some children enjoy that; others tire of hearing it.
- Dan and Danny are the natural short forms, and both are far more often heard as short for Daniel — which can lead to a small, lifelong round of clarifying.
Remington
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to nearly every American adult from the typewriter and firearms brands, so it is almost never misspelled or mispronounced.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Remi, Remy, Rem — each of which works on its own as a full name.
- Works for a boy or a girl without alteration, in the same way surname-names like Harper and Emerson do.
To consider
- The firearms company is the strongest association the name carries for many adults, and some people will mention it. Others will think of the typewriter first, or of nothing in particular. Worth knowing that the connection exists rather than meeting it by surprise.
- It leans toward boys but is genuinely given to girls too, so the name alone will not always tell a teacher or a form-filler which is which. The smaller side of that split is the one likelier to be assumed wrong.
- Ten letters and three syllables is a lot for a young child to write, and Remi or Rem will probably do most of the daily work — which is fine, but it means choosing a short form you can live with as well.
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 Dante and Remington 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 Dante and Remington?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Dante and Remington — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Dante or Remington — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Dante or Remington?
- Remington, in 2025: Remington ranked #307 with 1,105 babies; Dante ranked #308 with 1,104 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Dante or Remington?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Dante moved down 7 places; Remington moved down 77 places.
- Which is the older name, Dante or Remington?
- Dante entered the US charts in 1908; Remington entered the US charts in 1955. On the American record, Dante is the older name.
- How many people are named Dante and Remington?
- About 48,500 people named Dante are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 23,500 people named Remington are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Dantes or Remingtons in the classroom?
- Dante will almost certainly be the only one in school. Remington 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 Dante, Remington 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