Head to head · Boys' names
Edgar vs Nasir
#486 vs #486 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Edgar and Nasir share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#486). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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, Edgar leads 3 measures of 6; Nasir leads 0.
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: Edgar #60, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1890s: Edgar #67, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1900s: Edgar #78, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1910s: Edgar #86, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1920s: Edgar #100, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1930s: Edgar #139, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1940s: Edgar #181, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1950s: Edgar #242, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1960s: Edgar #301, Nasir — — Edgar higher
- 1970s: Edgar #285, Nasir #3283 — Edgar higher
- 1980s: Edgar #223, Nasir #3386 — Edgar higher
- 1990s: Edgar #153, Nasir #1655 — Edgar higher
- 2000s: Edgar #176, Nasir #466 — Edgar higher
- 2010s: Edgar #308, Nasir #479 — Edgar higher
- 2020s: Edgar #433, Nasir #409 — Nasir higher
Edgar stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Nasir took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Edgar | Nasir |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #60 | — |
| 1890s | #67 | — |
| 1900s | #78 | — |
| 1910s | #86 | — |
| 1920s | #100 | — |
| 1930s | #139 | — |
| 1940s | #181 | — |
| 1950s | #242 | — |
| 1960s | #301 | — |
| 1970s | #285 | #3283 |
| 1980s | #223 | #3386 |
| 1990s | #153 | #1655 |
| 2000s | #176 | #466 |
| 2010s | #308 | #479 |
| 2020s | #433 | #409 |
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
Edgar
rich spear; prosperity-spear
Two Old English elements: a word meaning wealth or good fortune, and the word for a spear. Spear names were the largest family in old Germanic naming, because a spear was the one weapon every free man owned, and the compounds were compliments rather than descriptions.
Eadgar → Edgar
How it traveled
Edgar the Peaceable was crowned late — he had been king for fourteen years before the ceremony — and the service that was written for him, apparently by Dunstan, is the reason English coronations look the way they do. The order of it is essentially unchanged: the recognition, the oath, the anointing with oil under a canopy, the delivery of the regalia, the crowning, the enthroning, the homage.
Nasir
helper, supporter, protector — one who gives victory
From the Arabic root n-ṣ-r, 'to help, to aid, to grant victory'. The closely related Naseer (نصير) sits on the same root and is often translated the same way.
naṣara (Arabic verb: to help, to give victory) → Nāṣir (ناصر) → Nasir
How it traveled
Nasir (ناصر) is an Arabic active participle: literally the one who helps or grants victory. It appears in Islamic tradition among the names describing God as helper, and it spread with Arabic across North Africa, Persia, South Asia, the Swahili coast and the Malay world, where it remains an everyday given name and surname.
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
Edgar
ED-gar
Two syllables with the stress at the front in English. Spanish speakers say ed-GAR with the weight at the back, and both are heard in American families — often within the same one.
- Ed — The front of the name, and the everyday form for most bearers.
- Eddie — The affectionate form, shared with several unrelated names.
- Gary — Built from the back of the name; used in some American families as a deliberate alternative to Ed.
Nasir
nah-SEER
Stress on the second syllable is the standard Arabic-derived pronunciation and the most common one in the US. Some English speakers default to NAY-zher or NAY-zer on first sight, so expect to correct it occasionally.
- Nas — The most common short form in American English, and known independently as the stage name of the rapper born Nasir Jones.
- Naz — Informal, used in both American and British English; also stands alone in some families.
- Nasi — Affectionate, mostly used at home and by younger relatives.
- Sir — A playful clipping of the second syllable, heard among friends rather than family.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Edgar if you want…
- a long American recordEdgar was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Nasir if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsNasir is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalNasir entered the US charts in 1973
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
Edgar
Strengths
- It is spelled identically in English, Spanish, French and German.
- Ed and Eddie are both ready-made and need no explanation anywhere.
- The meaning is documented all the way back and has not shifted.
To consider
- English and Spanish stress it differently, so a bilingual family hears two versions of one name.
- The horror writer is a permanent association for English-speaking readers.
- It was recorded for daughters too in earlier decades, though very rarely.
Nasir
Strengths
- Works unchanged in Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Malay and Swahili contexts — a name that travels without needing a second version.
- A settled, well-documented meaning, which is more than many names can offer.
- Short form Nas is already established and needs no explaining.
To consider
- It shares a root and a sound with several near neighbors — Nasser, Naseer, Naser, and the separate name Nazir — so it will sometimes be spelled or heard as one of those.
- Because transliteration from Arabic allows more than one form, some people will assume your spelling is the variant and theirs the standard. A calm correction usually settles it.
- In the US this name's wave is recent, so nearly all American Nasirs are children or young adults; there is no ready supply of grown namesakes in most neighborhoods.
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 Edgar and Nasir in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Edgar and Nasir?
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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 head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- Dark academia names with candlelit gravitas
- Bronte names
- all guides
Where Edgar and Nasir each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Edgar or Nasir — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Edgar or Nasir?
- They tie in 2025: Edgar ranked #486 with 617 babies; Nasir ranked #486 with 617 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Edgar or Nasir?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Edgar moved down 95 places; Nasir moved down 126 places.
- Which is the older name, Edgar or Nasir?
- Edgar was already in use when US records began in 1880; Nasir entered the US charts in 1973. On the American record, Edgar is the older name.
- How many people are named Edgar and Nasir?
- About 95,500 people named Edgar are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,500 people named Nasir are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Edgars or Nasirs in the classroom?
- Edgar will almost certainly be the only one in school. Nasir 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
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