Head to head · Boys' names
Denver vs Dorian
#518 vs #539 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Denver is a whisker ahead (#518 vs #539 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
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, Denver leads 4 measures of 6; Dorian 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
- 1880s: Denver #839, Dorian — — Denver higher
- 1890s: Denver #773, Dorian — — Denver higher
- 1900s: Denver #678, Dorian — — Denver higher
- 1910s: Denver #526, Dorian #2972 — Denver higher
- 1920s: Denver #457, Dorian #3532 — Denver higher
- 1930s: Denver #483, Dorian #2638 — Denver higher
- 1940s: Denver #513, Dorian #1650 — Denver higher
- 1950s: Denver #645, Dorian #1029 — Denver higher
- 1960s: Denver #764, Dorian #870 — Denver higher
- 1970s: Denver #807, Dorian #569 — Dorian higher
- 1980s: Denver #904, Dorian #596 — Dorian higher
- 1990s: Denver #900, Dorian #519 — Dorian higher
- 2000s: Denver #1091, Dorian #445 — Dorian higher
- 2010s: Denver #985, Dorian #534 — Dorian higher
- 2020s: Denver #505, Dorian #554 — Denver higher
Denver stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Denver took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Denver | Dorian |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #839 | — |
| 1890s | #773 | — |
| 1900s | #678 | — |
| 1910s | #526 | #2972 |
| 1920s | #457 | #3532 |
| 1930s | #483 | #2638 |
| 1940s | #513 | #1650 |
| 1950s | #645 | #1029 |
| 1960s | #764 | #870 |
| 1970s | #807 | #569 |
| 1980s | #904 | #596 |
| 1990s | #900 | #519 |
| 2000s | #1091 | #445 |
| 2010s | #985 | #534 |
| 2020s | #505 | #554 |
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
Denver
crossing or passage of the Danes
From Old English Dena (of the Danes) plus a word for a crossing or ford, describing the Norfolk village of Denver. The American city carries the surname of James W. Denver, governor of Kansas Territory, rather than the meaning directly.
Dena fær (Old English) → Denver (village in Norfolk) → Denver (English surname) → Denver (given name)
How it traveled
The oldest Denver is a place: a village in the Norfolk fens of eastern England, named for a crossing used by Danish settlers. English place names of that kind hardened into family names, and the surname Denver crossed the Atlantic with its bearers.
Dorian
of the Dorians
From Greek Dorieus, belonging to the Dorians, one of the four groups the Greeks divided themselves into. The tribe's own name is of unknown origin. The word survives in the Doric order of columns and in the Dorian mode in music, both of them named for the same people.
Dorieus → Dorian
How it traveled
The Dorians were the Greeks of Sparta, Corinth and Crete, and later Greek writers built a whole set of associations around them — plain, severe, unadorned — which is why the plainest of the three column orders is called Doric and why the Dorian mode had a reputation for steadiness. Wilde took the word and gave it to a character who is the opposite of all that: a young man of remarkable beauty who does not change while a painting of him does.
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
Denver
DEN-ver
Stress on the first syllable. The city means almost no American will hesitate over it, and English speakers elsewhere manage it without instruction.
- Den — The most direct short form, used informally at home and among friends.
- Denny — Informal; also stands alone as a given name and is more often heard as a short form of Dennis.
- Dev — Occasional playground shortening; also an independent name in its own right.
Dorian
DOR-ee-un
Three syllables, stress on the first. French and Romanian put the weight at the end, do-ree-AN. Nothing in the spelling is ambiguous in either language.
- Dor — The first syllable; used within families for either child.
- Rian — The back half; also an Irish name in its own right.
- Dory — A softer form; a full name of its own and used for either child.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Denver if you want…
- a name most people already know#518 in 2025, 578 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 8 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesDenver is 2 syllables to Dorian's 3
- a long American recordDenver was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Dorian if you want…
- a name fewer children share#539 in 2025 — dorian will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyDorian is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itDorian runs 3 syllables, Denver 2
- a newer arrivalDorian entered the US charts in 1915
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
Denver
Strengths
- One spelling, one pronunciation, and a city on every US map to anchor both — it will rarely need to be spelled out or repeated.
- A documented line running from a Norfolk village to an English surname to an American given name, rather than a recent invention.
- Given quietly and consistently across many generations, so it reads as neither dated nor newly minted.
To consider
- The city dominates the association. Expect a lifetime of people asking whether the family has Colorado ties, and the occasional question about the singer who took the city's name as his own.
- It leans toward boys without settling there. A girl named Denver will meet forms and teachers who assume otherwise — easily corrected, but it will recur.
- Denny, the friendliest short form, is more commonly attached to Dennis, so it may invite that name as a guess.
Dorian
Strengths
- A documented Greek origin visible in two ordinary English words, Doric and Dorian.
- The same spelling in French, Romanian and English.
- Three short forms, all of which serve either child.
To consider
- The novel is the reason the name exists, and readers will mention it.
- Its most famous bearer is fictional, ageless and not a good man, which is a lot to carry.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
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 Denver and Dorian 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 Denver and Dorian?
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 these names appear on
- Borrowed from the girls: names boys are taking back
- Place names on the map and the birth certificate
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- Literary names for future bookworms
- all guides
Where Denver and Dorian each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Denver or Dorian — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Denver or Dorian?
- Denver, in 2025: Denver ranked #518 with 578 babies; Dorian ranked #539 with 557 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Denver or Dorian?
- Denver. Over the last five years Denver moved up 8 places; Dorian moved down 27 places.
- Which is the older name, Denver or Dorian?
- Denver was already in use when US records began in 1880; Dorian entered the US charts in 1915. On the American record, Denver is the older name.
- How many people are named Denver and Dorian?
- About 13,500 people named Denver are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 23,000 people named Dorian are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Denvers or Dorians in the classroom?
- Denver will almost certainly be the only one in school. Dorian 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 Denver, Dorian 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