Head to head · Girls' names
Elliott vs Seraphina
#599 vs #599 in 2025
Elliott and Seraphina share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#599). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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
The tape is even: Elliott and Seraphina each lead 2 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
Who owned which decade
- 1910s: Elliott #3976, Seraphina #3919 — Seraphina higher
- 1920s: Elliott #4804, Seraphina — — Elliott higher
- 1930s: Elliott #4255, Seraphina — — Elliott higher
- 1940s: Elliott #4417, Seraphina — — Elliott higher
- 1950s: Elliott #6086, Seraphina — — Elliott higher
- 1960s: Elliott #6592, Seraphina — — Elliott higher
- 1970s: Elliott #7863, Seraphina — — Elliott higher
- 1980s: Elliott #7632, Seraphina #8611 — Elliott higher
- 1990s: Elliott #6210, Seraphina #9780 — Elliott higher
- 2000s: Elliott #3215, Seraphina #4713 — Elliott higher
- 2010s: Elliott #810, Seraphina #1320 — Elliott higher
- 2020s: Elliott #590, Seraphina #955 — Elliott higher
Elliott stood higher in 11 of 12 decades; Elliott has held the lead since the 1920s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elliott | Seraphina |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3976 | #3919 |
| 1920s | #4804 | — |
| 1930s | #4255 | — |
| 1940s | #4417 | — |
| 1950s | #6086 | — |
| 1960s | #6592 | — |
| 1970s | #7863 | — |
| 1980s | #7632 | #8611 |
| 1990s | #6210 | #9780 |
| 2000s | #3215 | #4713 |
| 2010s | #810 | #1320 |
| 2020s | #590 | #955 |
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
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.
Seraphina
burning one, fiery one — from the seraphim, the highest order of angels
The Hebrew root śārap means to burn; seraphim are the burning ones described in Isaiah's vision of the throne. Seraphina is the Latin feminine formed from that word.
śārap (Hebrew: to burn) → seraphim → Seraphinus / Seraphina (Latin) → Serafina → Seraphina
How it traveled
The word arrived in Latin through the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, untranslated, as seraphim — the angels Isaiah saw above the throne, each with six wings. Medieval Christian Europe turned it into a personal name, Seraphinus for men and Seraphina for women, and it settled most firmly in Italy, where Serafina became ordinary.
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.
Seraphina
seh-ruh-FEE-nuh
Four syllables, stress on the third. A minority of English-speakers say seh-ruh-FY-nuh; the Italian-style FEE is the usual American reading, and worth saying first when you introduce her.
- Sera — The most common English short form; also used on its own as a given name.
- Fina — The traditional Italian clipping, taken from the end rather than the front.
- Seri — Informal, mostly within families; sometimes spelled Serri or Sery.
- Phina — Informal and less common; shares its sound with the tail of Josephine.
- Also Sephy.
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 past its most crowded yearsElliott is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesElliott is 3 syllables to Seraphina's 4
Choose Seraphina if you want…
- a name on the way upup 673 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itSeraphina runs 4 syllables, Elliott 3
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.
Seraphina
Strengths
- Several established short forms, front and back — Sera, Fina, Seri — so the full name never has to be the everyday one.
- Recognizable across Italian, Spanish, Polish, French and Russian, with a local spelling waiting in each.
- A documented record going back to medieval Latin, so it is a revival rather than a coinage.
To consider
- Serafina is the older and more widespread spelling, so expect to correct the f-for-ph fairly often, in both directions.
- Four syllables is a lot to carry on forms and roll calls. It works best if you are genuinely happy with one of the short forms as her daily name.
- The angel meaning is right on the surface — people will hear seraph. That is either the appeal or the thing that makes it a little much, depending on your family.
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.
Seraphina
58%chance Seraphina feels dated by 2040
Seraphina 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 Elliott and Seraphina 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 Seraphina?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -tt
- Nine-letter names, the long end of the chart
- Angel and heaven names
- Gothic names with candlelit edges
- all guides
Where Elliott and Seraphina each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elliott or Seraphina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elliott or Seraphina?
- They tie in 2025: Elliott ranked #599 with 489 babies; Seraphina ranked #599 with 489 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elliott or Seraphina?
- Seraphina. Over the last five years Elliott moved down 113 places; Seraphina moved up 673 places.
- Which is the older name, Elliott or Seraphina?
- Elliott entered the US charts in 1917; Seraphina entered the US charts in 1916. On the American record, Seraphina is the older name.
- How many people are named Elliott and Seraphina?
- About 8,100 people named Elliott are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,100 people named Seraphina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elliotts or Seraphinas in the classroom?
- Elliott will almost certainly be the only one in school. Seraphina 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
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