Head to head · Boys' names
Elliott vs Hayden
#160 vs #161 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Elliott is a whisker ahead (#160 vs #161 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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, Hayden leads 3 measures of 6; Elliott leads 2.
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, Hayden #897 — Elliott higher
- 1890s: Elliott #383, Hayden #785 — Elliott higher
- 1900s: Elliott #396, Hayden #872 — Elliott higher
- 1910s: Elliott #427, Hayden #769 — Elliott higher
- 1920s: Elliott #435, Hayden #861 — Elliott higher
- 1930s: Elliott #429, Hayden #1012 — Elliott higher
- 1940s: Elliott #389, Hayden #1025 — Elliott higher
- 1950s: Elliott #475, Hayden #1324 — Elliott higher
- 1960s: Elliott #500, Hayden #1381 — Elliott higher
- 1970s: Elliott #526, Hayden #1314 — Elliott higher
- 1980s: Elliott #391, Hayden #971 — Elliott higher
- 1990s: Elliott #455, Hayden #213 — Hayden higher
- 2000s: Elliott #451, Hayden #90 — Hayden higher
- 2010s: Elliott #227, Hayden #142 — Hayden higher
- 2020s: Elliott #164, Hayden #165 — Elliott higher
Elliott stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Elliott took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elliott | Hayden |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #413 | #897 |
| 1890s | #383 | #785 |
| 1900s | #396 | #872 |
| 1910s | #427 | #769 |
| 1920s | #435 | #861 |
| 1930s | #429 | #1012 |
| 1940s | #389 | #1025 |
| 1950s | #475 | #1324 |
| 1960s | #500 | #1381 |
| 1970s | #526 | #1314 |
| 1980s | #391 | #971 |
| 1990s | #455 | #213 |
| 2000s | #451 | #90 |
| 2010s | #227 | #142 |
| 2020s | #164 | #165 |
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.
Hayden
- Canada#96
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.
Hayden
'hay valley' or 'hay hill' (Old English)
The English surname traces to places named Haydon or Hayden, from Old English hēg 'hay' joined either to denu 'valley' or dūn 'hill' — the two readings differ by which place the family came from. Separately, Hayden serves as the anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hÉideáin, so some Haydens descend from an Irish family name rather than an English field.
Old English hēg-dūn / hēg-denu → Haydon (English place name) → Hayden (English and Irish surname) → Hayden (given name)
How it traveled
The English root is topographical: villages and farms called Haydon or Hayden in counties such as Northumberland, Dorset and Somerset, named for hay ground on a hill or in a valley, gave their names to the families who held or left them. Those families carried the surname to Ireland and across the Atlantic, where Hayden also absorbed Irish bearers anglicizing Ó hÉideáin.
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.
Hayden
HAY-din
Stress on the first syllable. The second is often reduced to little more than HAY-dn. One pronunciation across English-speaking countries, and it reads correctly on sight.
- Hayd — The usual clipping among friends and teammates; almost never written down.
- Hay — Informal family shortening, mostly used by parents and siblings.
- H — Initial-only nickname common in American school and sports settings.
Who has carried each name
Elliott
Elliott Smith (b. 1969) — Indie songwriting legend ("Miss Misery")
Elliott Gould (b. 1938) — M*A*S*H star
Hayden
Hayden Christensen (b. 1981) — Star Wars' Anakin Skywalker
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 holding steadyElliott is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itElliott runs 3 syllables, Hayden 2
Choose Hayden if you want…
- a name on the way upup 16 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesHayden is 2 syllables to Elliott's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooHayden is on the national lists of Canada
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.
Hayden
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds: a reader who has never met the name will get it right first try.
- Works on the page for a boy or a girl, since it comes from a surname rather than from either tradition of given names.
- Unbroken presence on the American record from the very beginning of that record to now — familiar to every generation without belonging to one.
To consider
- It sits inside a very crowded sound family — Aiden, Jayden, Caden, Braden. A Hayden may rarely meet another Hayden, but will likely share a classroom rhyme with several children.
- Haydon, Haden and Haydn all exist, so expect an occasional correction on forms and email addresses.
- Most Haydens are boys, so a girl named Hayden will sometimes be assumed male on paperwork before anyone meets her — easy to correct, but worth knowing it will happen.
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 Elliott and Hayden 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 Elliott and Hayden?
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 these names appear on
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- The steadiest names in America
- Three-syllable names with room to move
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- all guides
Where Elliott and Hayden each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elliott or Hayden — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elliott or Hayden?
- Elliott, in 2025: Elliott ranked #160 with 2,287 babies; Hayden ranked #161 with 2,268 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elliott or Hayden?
- Hayden. Over the last five years Elliott moved down 2 places; Hayden moved up 16 places.
- Which is the older name, Elliott or Hayden?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Elliott and Hayden?
- About 54,000 people named Elliott are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 111,000 people named Hayden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elliotts or Haydens in the classroom?
- Elliott will almost certainly be the only one in school. Hayden 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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