Head to head · Girls' names
Elliana vs Evangeline
#139 vs #147 in 2025
Elliana is a whisker ahead (#139 vs #147 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Elliana is holding its place on the charts, Evangeline is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Evangeline has the edge.
Each name in full: Elliana · Evangeline
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
The tape is even: Elliana and Evangeline each lead 3 measures of 6.
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
Elliana — holding its place on the charts. About 28,000 people named Elliana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
Evangeline — climbing the charts fast. About 29,500 people named Evangeline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Elliana —, Evangeline #668 — Evangeline higher
- 1890s: Elliana —, Evangeline #558 — Evangeline higher
- 1900s: Elliana —, Evangeline #455 — Evangeline higher
- 1910s: Elliana —, Evangeline #455 — Evangeline higher
- 1920s: Elliana —, Evangeline #436 — Evangeline higher
- 1930s: Elliana —, Evangeline #474 — Evangeline higher
- 1940s: Elliana —, Evangeline #655 — Evangeline higher
- 1950s: Elliana —, Evangeline #804 — Evangeline higher
- 1960s: Elliana —, Evangeline #981 — Evangeline higher
- 1970s: Elliana —, Evangeline #1368 — Evangeline higher
- 1980s: Elliana #8730, Evangeline #1972 — Evangeline higher
- 1990s: Elliana #7398, Evangeline #2010 — Evangeline higher
- 2000s: Elliana #1151, Evangeline #1215 — Elliana higher
- 2010s: Elliana #276, Evangeline #280 — Elliana higher
- 2020s: Elliana #132, Evangeline #215 — Elliana higher
Evangeline stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Elliana has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elliana | Evangeline |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #668 |
| 1890s | — | #558 |
| 1900s | — | #455 |
| 1910s | — | #455 |
| 1920s | — | #436 |
| 1930s | — | #474 |
| 1940s | — | #655 |
| 1950s | — | #804 |
| 1960s | — | #981 |
| 1970s | — | #1368 |
| 1980s | #8730 | #1972 |
| 1990s | #7398 | #2010 |
| 2000s | #1151 | #1215 |
| 2010s | #276 | #280 |
| 2020s | #132 | #215 |
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
Elliana
"God has answered me" (Hebrew) or "sun" (Latin)
Two separate names have long shared this shape. The Hebrew Eliana reads as "God has answered me" (from the elements for God and for answering). The Italian, Spanish and Portuguese Eliana descends instead from the Roman family name Aelianus, itself usually connected to Helios, the sun. Neither reading has pushed the other out, and Elliana inherits both.
Aelianus → Eliana → Elliana
How it traveled
Eliana existed independently in two places: in Hebrew, built from the words for God and for answering, and in the Romance languages as the feminine of Aeliano, from the Roman name Aelianus. Both forms traveled into English use, which is why dictionaries offer two meanings without contradiction.
Evangeline
bringer of good news
From Greek eu- "good" and angelma "message" — the same roots behind the word evangel, or gospel.
euangelion (Greek, "good news") → Evangelium (Latin) → Evangelia / Evangelos (Greek) → Evangelina → Evangeline
How it traveled
The parts are ancient Greek: eu- "good" joined to the word for message, the pair of them behind evangelium, the Latin word for gospel. The name Evangelia and its masculine partner Evangelos have been in steady use among Greek-speaking Christians for centuries.
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
Elliana
el-ee-AH-nuh
Four syllables, stress on the third. A second pronunciation, el-ee-AN-uh (rhyming with Anna), is also in use, so the name is often introduced with a quick correction one way or the other.
- Ellie — The most common short form, and a registered given name in its own right across the English-speaking world.
- Ella — Informal, drawn from the first half; also stands alone as a given name.
- Elle — A shorter, more clipped option, used both informally and as an independent name.
- Lia — Taken from the tail of the name; independently used in Italian, German and Portuguese.
- Also Ana, Elli.
Evangeline
ee-VAN-juh-leen
Stress on the second syllable. The ending goes both ways: some families say -leen, others -lin or -line. Both are established, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
- Evie — The most common informal short form in current American use; also given as a name on its own.
- Eva — Informal or formal; a long-established independent given name in many languages.
- Eve — A clean one-syllable option, and a standalone name with its own long history.
- Lina — Taken from the end of the name; used as a full given name in Arabic, German and Scandinavian contexts.
- Also Vangie, Angie.
Who has carried each name
Elliana
No documented entry for Elliana yet.
Evangeline
Evangeline Lilly (b. 1979) — Lost's Kate and Marvel's Wasp
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 Elliana if you want…
- a name holding steadyElliana is holding its place on the charts
Choose Evangeline if you want…
- a name on the way upup 111 places on the charts in five years
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
Elliana
Strengths
- Comes with short forms already in independent use — Ellie, Ella, Elle — so the everyday name needs no inventing.
- Works in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew in the closely related Eliana form, which travels without translation.
- Reads phonetically on a first pass; most English speakers will attempt it correctly even if they need the stress confirmed.
To consider
- The spelling will need repeating. Eliana, Elliana, Iliana and Eleana all circulate, and the single-L version is the older and better-known one, so expect to spell it out at the pharmacy and the school office.
- Two pronunciations are both in real use — el-ee-AH-nuh and el-ee-AN-uh. Worth deciding which one you want before the birth announcement.
- Ellie is shared with Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and many others. A child may be the only Elliana in the building and still be one of several Ellies.
Evangeline
Strengths
- An unusually deep bench of short forms — Evie, Eva, Eve, Lina — so the same child can have a formal name and an everyday one.
- Recognizable across languages: Greek Evangelia, Spanish and Italian Evangelina, French Évangéline all trace the same roots.
- Spelled the way it sounds once heard, and anchored by the familiar word evangel; most people will get it right on the second try.
To consider
- The wave is very recent and still building, so a child named Evangeline now will likely meet more of them over a lifetime than the current classroom suggests.
- Four syllables invites shortening, and the shortenings lead straight into Eva, Evie and Evelyn — a crowded corner of the girls' charts right now. You may hear her called by one of those far more than by her full name.
- The eu-angel root means "good news" in the gospel sense, and some Americans hear the word evangelical in it. That reads as a plus in some families and as a signal in others; it is worth knowing which one your circle hears.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Elliana
40%chance Elliana feels dated by 2040
Elliana sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Evangeline
56%chance Evangeline feels dated by 2040
Evangeline 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 Elliana and Evangeline 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 Elliana and Evangeline?
Put both to the vote.
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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
Every list here names both Elliana and Evangeline — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elliana or Evangeline — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elliana or Evangeline?
- Elliana, in 2025: Elliana ranked #139 with 2,099 babies; Evangeline ranked #147 with 1,998 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elliana or Evangeline?
- Evangeline. Over the last five years Elliana moved down 6 places; Evangeline moved up 111 places.
- Which is the older name, Elliana or Evangeline?
- Elliana entered the US charts in 1986; Evangeline entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Evangeline is the older name.
- How many people are named Elliana and Evangeline?
- About 28,000 people named Elliana are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,500 people named Evangeline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ellianas or Evangelines in the classroom?
- Elliana will almost certainly be the only one in school. Evangeline 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 Elliana, Evangeline and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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