Head to head · Girls' names
Ella vs Zoe
#29 vs #31 in 2025
Ella is a whisker ahead (#29 vs #31 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Ella is stepping back from its peak, Zoe is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Zoe has the edge.
Cast your vote1 vote
Which one would you pick?
1 parent has voted — the split shows after you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Ella leads 4 measures of 6; Zoe 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: Ella #17, Zoe #379 — Ella higher
- 1890s: Ella #32, Zoe #508 — Ella higher
- 1900s: Ella #50, Zoe #746 — Ella higher
- 1910s: Ella #75, Zoe #880 — Ella higher
- 1920s: Ella #95, Zoe #892 — Ella higher
- 1930s: Ella #121, Zoe #808 — Ella higher
- 1940s: Ella #162, Zoe #1093 — Ella higher
- 1950s: Ella #255, Zoe #941 — Ella higher
- 1960s: Ella #435, Zoe #1119 — Ella higher
- 1970s: Ella #743, Zoe #1093 — Ella higher
- 1980s: Ella #985, Zoe #889 — Zoe higher
- 1990s: Ella #659, Zoe #228 — Zoe higher
- 2000s: Ella #72, Zoe #59 — Zoe higher
- 2010s: Ella #15, Zoe #34 — Ella higher
- 2020s: Ella #25, Zoe #36 — Ella higher
Ella stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Ella has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ella | Zoe |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #17 | #379 |
| 1890s | #32 | #508 |
| 1900s | #50 | #746 |
| 1910s | #75 | #880 |
| 1920s | #95 | #892 |
| 1930s | #121 | #808 |
| 1940s | #162 | #1093 |
| 1950s | #255 | #941 |
| 1960s | #435 | #1119 |
| 1970s | #743 | #1093 |
| 1980s | #985 | #889 |
| 1990s | #659 | #228 |
| 2000s | #72 | #59 |
| 2010s | #15 | #34 |
| 2020s | #25 | #36 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Ella
- Scotland#14
- Canada#26
- England & Wales#39
- France#65
Zoe
- Canada#21
- Scotland#52
- England & Wales#99
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Ella
All, complete — or simply the end of a longer name
Two accounts compete. One takes it from a Germanic name brought to England by the Normans, built on a word meaning all or complete. The other treats it as the tail end of names like Isabella and Gabriella, cut loose and used alone — which certainly happened, whatever the older history. Both are true of different bearers.
Alia → Ella
How it traveled
One Ella won an amateur night at a Harlem theater she had entered as a dancer — lost her nerve when she saw the act before her, sang instead, and was still singing sixty years later, with a range and an ear that other musicians describe in terms usually reserved for instruments. The other never performed at all.
Zoe
Life
From Greek ζωή (zōē), "life" — the ordinary word, not a poetic coinage.
Zōē (Greek) → Zoë → Zoe
How it traveled
The name is simply the Greek noun for life. When Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek in the last centuries BC, they rendered Eve's name — Chavah, connected to living — as Zoe, which gave the word a scriptural life 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
Ella
EL-uh
Two syllables, stress at the front. Said the same way in every language that uses it.
- Ellie — The name softened, which for many bearers becomes the everyday form.
- El — The single syllable, plain and quick.
Zoe
ZOH-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The older spelling Zoë used the two dots precisely to stop readers saying it as one syllable, "Zoh"; American usage has mostly dropped them, so an occasional first-time misreading comes with the plain spelling.
- Zo — The usual informal clip among friends and family; rarely written down.
- Zozo — A reduplicated pet form, mostly used with young children.
- Zoey — Not really a nickname but a full alternate spelling, given independently as a name in its own right.
Who has carried each name
Ella
Ella Fitzgerald (b. 1917) — The "First Lady of Song" with 13 Grammys
Ella Baker (b. 1903) — Master strategist of the civil rights movement
Ella Purnell (b. 1996) — Star of Fallout and Yellowjackets
Zoe
Zoë Saldaña (b. 1978) — Star of Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy — the biggest box-office franchises ever
Zoe Porphyrogenita (b. 978) — Byzantine empress who ruled in her own right
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 Ella if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsElla is stepping back from its peak
- a name that charts abroad tooElla is on the national lists of Scotland, Canada, England & Wales and France
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 51% for Zoe
Choose Zoe if you want…
- a name on the way upup 9 places on the charts in five years
- a name that feels very nowZoe is climbing the charts fast
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
Ella
Strengths
- It is short, soft and easy for a small child to say about herself.
- It is spelled identically across most of Europe and read correctly everywhere.
- It sits inside several longer names, so a child can grow into a formal version if she wants one.
To consider
- It is currently very well used, so she is unlikely to be the only one.
- Ella, Ellie and Bella are close enough to be swapped constantly in a classroom.
- The spelling is recorded for boys as well, though it belongs overwhelmingly to the girls.
Zoe
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and already complete — no nickname is required for everyday use.
- Recognized across French, Spanish, Italian, Greek and Hungarian with at most an accent changing.
- A documented record stretching from ancient Greek inscriptions through the Byzantine court to the present day.
To consider
- Zoe, Zoey, Zoë and Zoie all circulate, so expect to be asked which one — and expect the others to turn up on forms and gift tags.
- Without the two dots, some readers will try "Zoh" the first time, especially in print.
- It has been climbing steadily rather than fading, so it is likely to be more familiar in a classroom of the coming years than in one of the recent past.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Ella
12%chance Ella feels dated by 2040
Ella has held the top-100 across 8 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Zoe
51%chance Zoe feels dated by 2040
Zoe 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.
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 Ella and Zoe 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 Ella and Zoe?
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.
Lists that carry both names
- Short and sweet: names of four letters or fewer
- Transatlantic hits: loved on both sides of the ocean
- America's top 100 names right now
- all guides
Every list here names both Ella and Zoe — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ella or Zoe — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ella or Zoe?
- Ella, in 2025: Ella ranked #29 with 5,831 babies; Zoe ranked #31 with 5,646 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ella or Zoe?
- Zoe. Over the last five years Ella moved down 14 places; Zoe moved up 9 places.
- Which is the older name, Ella or Zoe?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Ella and Zoe?
- About 227,000 people named Ella are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 159,000 people named Zoe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ellas or Zoes in the classroom?
- Ella will almost certainly be the only one in school. Zoe will almost certainly be the only one in school.
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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Ella, Zoe and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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