Head to head · Boys' names
Elliott vs Evan
#160 vs #153 in 2025
Evan is a whisker ahead (#153 vs #160 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Evan is stepping back from its peak, Elliott is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Elliott 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, Evan leads 4 measures of 6; Elliott 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: Elliott #413, Evan #416 — Elliott higher
- 1890s: Elliott #383, Evan #449 — Elliott higher
- 1900s: Elliott #396, Evan #494 — Elliott higher
- 1910s: Elliott #427, Evan #471 — Elliott higher
- 1920s: Elliott #435, Evan #497 — Elliott higher
- 1930s: Elliott #429, Evan #536 — Elliott higher
- 1940s: Elliott #389, Evan #506 — Elliott higher
- 1950s: Elliott #475, Evan #424 — Evan higher
- 1960s: Elliott #500, Evan #345 — Evan higher
- 1970s: Elliott #526, Evan #272 — Evan higher
- 1980s: Elliott #391, Evan #100 — Evan higher
- 1990s: Elliott #455, Evan #64 — Evan higher
- 2000s: Elliott #451, Evan #44 — Evan higher
- 2010s: Elliott #227, Evan #64 — Evan higher
- 2020s: Elliott #164, Evan #131 — Evan higher
Evan stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Evan has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elliott | Evan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #413 | #416 |
| 1890s | #383 | #449 |
| 1900s | #396 | #494 |
| 1910s | #427 | #471 |
| 1920s | #435 | #497 |
| 1930s | #429 | #536 |
| 1940s | #389 | #506 |
| 1950s | #475 | #424 |
| 1960s | #500 | #345 |
| 1970s | #526 | #272 |
| 1980s | #391 | #100 |
| 1990s | #455 | #64 |
| 2000s | #451 | #44 |
| 2010s | #227 | #64 |
| 2020s | #164 | #131 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Elliott
Not charting outside the US.
Evan
- Canada#81
- France#97
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Elliott
From a medieval English form of Elias — that is, Elijah, Hebrew for "my God is Yahweh"
The main line is clear: the surname Elliott comes from Elyot/Eliot, a medieval English pet form of Elias, the Greek and Latin spelling of Elijah. A smaller share of Elliott families trace instead to the Old English personal name Ælfwald, "elf-ruler." Both routes are documented, and a given Elliott today can honestly claim either.
Eliyahu → Elias → Elyot → Eliot → Elliott
How it traveled
Elijah reached western Europe as Elias, through the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and then the Latin one, and medieval English speakers clipped and softened it into Elyot. Names like that hardened into hereditary surnames in England and along the Scottish border, where Elliot became one of the great riding-clan names of the frontier country.
Evan
God is gracious
Evan is the anglicized form of Welsh Ifan, a Welsh version of John, from Hebrew Yohanan, 'Yahweh is gracious'. In Scotland the same spelling was also used to write the unrelated Gaelic name Eòghann, so a Scottish Evan may sit on a different root — but the Welsh line is the one that gave the name to English.
Yohanan → Iohannes → Ieuan → Ifan → Evan
How it traveled
Latin Iohannes entered Welsh as Ieuan, softened to Ifan, and was written Evan when Welsh names were put into English spelling. The surname Evans — 'son of Evan' — became one of the most common in Wales, which tells you how ordinary the given name already was there.
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
Elliott
EL-ee-ut
Stress on the first syllable. All three spellings — Elliott, Elliot, Eliot — are said the same way, and the final syllable is a light "ut," not "ott."
- Eli — The most common short form, and a fully established given name in its own right, so an Elliott who uses it will meet others who were christened Eli.
- Ell — Informal, family-and-friends use; works equally for a boy or a girl.
- Ellie — Used mainly for girls named Elliott; almost always informal.
- Elliott — Frequently used in full, including in casual speech — the name resists shortening more than most three-syllable names.
Evan
EV-un
Stress on the first syllable, rhyming with 'heaven' minus the h. The Welsh forms behind it sound different — Ifan is closer to EE-van, Ieuan closer to YAY-an — and French speakers, where the name also charts, tend toward eh-VAHN with the stress at the back.
- Ev — The one short form in ordinary use; informal, family-and-friends register.
- Evs — Playground and teammate use, mostly among younger speakers.
- Van — Occasional, drawn from the second syllable; also a standalone name in Dutch usage.
Who has carried each name
Elliott
Elliott Smith (b. 1969) — Indie songwriting legend ("Miss Misery")
Elliott Gould (b. 1938) — M*A*S*H star
Evan
Evan Peters (b. 1987) — Emmy-winning American Horror Story shapeshifter
Evan Spiegel (b. 1990) — Co-founded Snapchat
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 Elliott if you want…
- a name with more sound in itElliott runs 3 syllables, Evan 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 78% for Evan
Choose Evan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsEvan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesEvan is 2 syllables to Elliott's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooEvan is on the national lists of Canada and France
- a name that feels very nowEvan is stepping back from its peak
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
Elliott
Strengths
- An unbroken presence in American records since counting began, without ever spiking into a fashion — the curve beside you is unusually level for a name this familiar.
- Instantly recognizable and easy to say on first hearing, with no pronunciation to teach anyone.
- Eli is a ready-made short form that stands on its own, so the name comes with a built-in casual register.
To consider
- Three spellings compete — Elliott, Elliot, Eliot — and all three are legitimate. Expect a lifetime of "two Ls and two Ts," and of mail arriving with one of each.
- For a girl, this is the same surname traveling the other way rather than a separate name, and most people will assume a boy on paper. That is workable, but worth deciding on deliberately rather than being surprised by it.
- The short form Eli sits in a crowded neighborhood with Eli, Elijah and Elias, so an Elliott who goes by Eli may not be the only one in the room even if the full name is.
Evan
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds in English, so it survives phone calls, forms and roll calls without correction.
- Charts in Canada and France as well as the United States, so it crosses borders without becoming a different word.
- A documented line running back through Welsh Ifan and Ieuan to John — one of the longest continuous records any Western name has.
To consider
- Evan and Ethan sit one consonant apart, and Ethan is far more common. Expect the occasional mishearing, especially in noisy rooms and over the phone.
- Ewan, Evann and Evin all exist, and Owen sounds close enough to be substituted by people in a hurry. The base spelling is the one most Americans will guess, but not the only one out there.
- The name resists shortening. If you like giving a child a long formal name with a smaller everyday version, Evan does not really offer that.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Elliott
40%chance Elliott feels dated by 2040
Elliott 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.
Evan
78%chance Evan feels dated by 2040
Evan is coming down from a big peak (#35 in 2009). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Elliott and Evan in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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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
Every list here names both Elliott and Evan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elliott or Evan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elliott or Evan?
- Evan, in 2025: Evan ranked #153 with 2,412 babies; Elliott ranked #160 with 2,287 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elliott or Evan?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Elliott moved down 2 places; Evan moved down 48 places.
- Which is the older name, Elliott or Evan?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Elliott and Evan?
- About 54,000 people named Elliott are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 275,000 people named Evan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elliotts or Evans in the classroom?
- Elliott will almost certainly be the only one in school. Evan 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
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