Head to head · Girls' names
Eliana vs Evelyn
#10 vs #8 in 2025
Evelyn is a whisker ahead (#8 vs #10 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Evelyn is holding its place on the charts, Eliana is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Eliana 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, Evelyn leads 5 measures of 6; Eliana leads 1.
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: Eliana —, Evelyn #134 — Evelyn higher
- 1890s: Eliana —, Evelyn #94 — Evelyn higher
- 1900s: Eliana —, Evelyn #43 — Evelyn higher
- 1910s: Eliana —, Evelyn #12 — Evelyn higher
- 1920s: Eliana —, Evelyn #14 — Evelyn higher
- 1930s: Eliana —, Evelyn #30 — Evelyn higher
- 1940s: Eliana —, Evelyn #61 — Evelyn higher
- 1950s: Eliana —, Evelyn #109 — Evelyn higher
- 1960s: Eliana #4496, Evelyn #170 — Evelyn higher
- 1970s: Eliana #4318, Evelyn #264 — Evelyn higher
- 1980s: Eliana #1817, Evelyn #238 — Evelyn higher
- 1990s: Eliana #885, Evelyn #197 — Evelyn higher
- 2000s: Eliana #331, Evelyn #83 — Evelyn higher
- 2010s: Eliana #114, Evelyn #18 — Evelyn higher
- 2020s: Eliana #34, Evelyn #9 — Evelyn higher
Evelyn stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Eliana | Evelyn |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #134 |
| 1890s | — | #94 |
| 1900s | — | #43 |
| 1910s | — | #12 |
| 1920s | — | #14 |
| 1930s | — | #30 |
| 1940s | — | #61 |
| 1950s | — | #109 |
| 1960s | #4496 | #170 |
| 1970s | #4318 | #264 |
| 1980s | #1817 | #238 |
| 1990s | #885 | #197 |
| 2000s | #331 | #83 |
| 2010s | #114 | #18 |
| 2020s | #34 | #9 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Eliana
- Canada#43
Evelyn
- Canada#15
- England & Wales#20
- Scotland#86
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Eliana
Either "my God has answered me" (Hebrew) or a feminine form of the Roman family name Aelius
Two genuine sources meet at this spelling. The Hebrew אֱלִיאָנָה combines El, "God," with the root for "answered" — "my God has answered me." Separately, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Eliana descends from Latin Aeliana, the feminine of Aelianus, from the Roman gens name Aelius, whose own meaning was never established. Neither reading is a mistake; which one applies depends on which family line a given Eliana comes down.
Aelius → Aeliana → Éliane → Eliana
How it traveled
The Hebrew name is built from ordinary religious language — El for God, plus the verb for answering a prayer — and belongs to the same family of names as Eliezer and Elisheva. The Latin Aeliana comes from Aelius, a well-attested Roman family name, and passed through the Romance languages as Eliana in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and Éliane in French.
Evelyn
Not established
The trail is clear until its very last step, and then it stops. Evelyn comes from the English surname Evelyn, which comes from the medieval feminine name Aveline, a Norman French pet form of the Germanic name Ava. What the Germanic element avi- actually meant is not established. Later readers have tied Evelyn to Latin avis, 'bird', or to Eve, 'life', by sound rather than descent; neither is the real line.
Ava → Aveline → Evelyn (English surname) → Evelyn
How it traveled
The Normans brought Aveline to England in the eleventh century, where it stayed in use through the Middle Ages and then hardened into a family surname. Surnames were fashionable as first names among English gentry from the seventeenth century onward, and Evelyn came back into circulation that way — used for sons as well as daughters in Britain, since a surname carries no gender of its own.
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
Eliana
el-ee-AH-nuh
The common American pronunciation stresses the third syllable with an open ah. Some families say eh-lee-AN-uh, rhyming the ending with Anna, and Hebrew speakers place more weight on the final syllable. All are correct for their tradition, so expect to state your preference occasionally.
- Ellie — The most common short form in American use; also given as a full name on its own.
- Ella — Informal, and independently a popular given name, so it rarely reads as a nickname.
- Lia — Drawn from the second half of the name; standard in Italian and Portuguese usage and a given name in its own right.
- Ana — Used in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking families, where it is also a complete name.
- Also Eli.
Evelyn
EV-uh-lin
EV-uh-lin is standard in the United States. In Britain you will also hear EEV-lin, in two syllables, especially from older speakers and in the surname. Both are correct for the same spelling, so it is worth deciding which one your family uses.
- Evie — The most widely used short form, informal, and a given name in its own right in Britain and Ireland.
- Eve — Informal short form; also stands alone as an independent name with its own long history.
- Ev — Clipped and informal, more often heard among older bearers.
- Lynn — Taken from the ending rather than the start; also a standalone given name, common in mid-century American records.
- Also Evy.
Who has carried each name
Eliana
No documented entry for Eliana yet.
Evelyn
Evelyn Beatrice Hall (b. 1868) — Coined "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Evelyn Glennie (b. 1965) — Grammy-winning percussionist who has been profoundly deaf since age 12
Evelyn Ashford (b. 1957) — Sprinter with four Olympic gold medals
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Eliana if you want…
- a name on the way upup 43 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itEliana runs 4 syllables, Evelyn 3
- a newer arrivalEliana entered the US charts in 1961
- a name that feels very nowEliana is climbing the charts fast
Choose Evelyn if you want…
- a name holding steadyEvelyn is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesEvelyn is 3 syllables to Eliana's 4
- a name that charts abroad tooEvelyn is on the national lists of Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
- a long American recordEvelyn was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Eliana
Strengths
- Reads and pronounces the same in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, which matters in a multilingual family.
- Comes with short forms already in circulation — Ellie, Ella, Lia — none of which need explaining.
- Phonetic in English: people can usually spell it after hearing it once.
To consider
- Elianna, with two n's, competes closely with this spelling, so you will likely be asked which one you mean for the rest of her life.
- The wave is very recent and still rising, so the name currently belongs strongly to young children rather than to all ages.
- Ellie and Ella are the default nicknames for a long list of popular names right now — she may share them with several classmates.
Evelyn
Strengths
- Short forms already in real use — Evie, Eve, Lynn — so a child has options without anyone inventing them.
- A spelling most English speakers write correctly on the first try, despite the unstressed middle syllable.
- Recorded continuously since national birth statistics began, and current in classrooms now: familiar to every generation alive.
To consider
- It is one of the most-used girls' names in the English-speaking world right now, so a shared name in the same class or friend group is a real possibility.
- Two pronunciations circulate — EV-uh-lin and EEV-lin — and the second is common enough in Britain that she may occasionally be asked which she prefers.
- Evelyn sits close to Evie, Eve, Ava, Eva and Evelina in sound, several of which are also popular; expect the odd mix-up.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Eliana
75%chance Eliana feels dated by 2040
Eliana is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Evelyn
12%chance Evelyn feels dated by 2040
Evelyn has held the top-100 across 9 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Eliana and Evelyn 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 Eliana and Evelyn?
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 head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- Names at their all-time peak, right now
- all guides
Every list here names both Eliana and Evelyn — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Eliana or Evelyn — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Eliana or Evelyn?
- Evelyn, in 2025: Evelyn ranked #8 with 9,123 babies; Eliana ranked #10 with 8,191 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Eliana or Evelyn?
- Eliana. Over the last five years Eliana moved up 43 places; Evelyn moved up 1 place.
- Which is the older name, Eliana or Evelyn?
- Eliana entered the US charts in 1961; Evelyn was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Evelyn is the older name.
- How many people are named Eliana and Evelyn?
- About 75,500 people named Eliana are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 321,000 people named Evelyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elianas or Evelyns in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 8 classrooms will have a child named Eliana. Roughly 1 in 7 classrooms will have a child named Evelyn.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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