Head to head · Boys' names
Emilio vs Evan
#154 vs #153 in 2025
Evan is a whisker ahead (#153 vs #154 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Evan is stepping back from its peak, Emilio is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Emilio 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 5 measures of 6; Emilio 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: Emilio #863, Evan #416 — Evan higher
- 1890s: Emilio #949, Evan #449 — Evan higher
- 1900s: Emilio #731, Evan #494 — Evan higher
- 1910s: Emilio #606, Evan #471 — Evan higher
- 1920s: Emilio #519, Evan #497 — Evan higher
- 1930s: Emilio #539, Evan #536 — Evan higher
- 1940s: Emilio #612, Evan #506 — Evan higher
- 1950s: Emilio #624, Evan #424 — Evan higher
- 1960s: Emilio #616, Evan #345 — Evan higher
- 1970s: Emilio #586, Evan #272 — Evan higher
- 1980s: Emilio #547, Evan #100 — Evan higher
- 1990s: Emilio #368, Evan #64 — Evan higher
- 2000s: Emilio #309, Evan #44 — Evan higher
- 2010s: Emilio #281, Evan #64 — Evan higher
- 2020s: Emilio #189, Evan #131 — Evan higher
Evan stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Emilio | Evan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #863 | #416 |
| 1890s | #949 | #449 |
| 1900s | #731 | #494 |
| 1910s | #606 | #471 |
| 1920s | #519 | #497 |
| 1930s | #539 | #536 |
| 1940s | #612 | #506 |
| 1950s | #624 | #424 |
| 1960s | #616 | #345 |
| 1970s | #586 | #272 |
| 1980s | #547 | #100 |
| 1990s | #368 | #64 |
| 2000s | #309 | #44 |
| 2010s | #281 | #64 |
| 2020s | #189 | #131 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Emilio
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
Emilio
from the Roman family name Aemilius, usually read as 'rival, striving to equal'
The standard reading connects Aemilius to Latin aemulus, 'rival' or 'emulating'. But Aemilius is itself an old patrician clan name, and clan names of that age often predate the Latin words they resemble; some scholars have instead linked it to Greek haimylios, 'winning, persuasive in speech'. Neither reading has closed the case.
Aemilius → Aemilianus → Emilius → Emilio
How it traveled
The Aemilii were one of the patrician families of the Roman Republic, and their name outlived them in stone: the Via Aemilia, laid across northern Italy in the second century BC, gave its name to the region still called Emilia-Romagna. Early Christian saints named Aemilianus and Aemilius kept the name in church calendars through the Middle Ages, and it settled into Italian and Spanish as Emilio, into French as Émile, into German and Polish as Emil.
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
Emilio
eh-MEE-lyoh
In Spanish and Italian the -lio glides into one quick syllable. English speakers often say eh-MEE-lee-oh, with four syllables; both are widely understood and the stress stays on the MEE either way.
- Emi — The everyday short form in Spanish-speaking families; informal, used mostly within the household.
- Milo — Clipped from the second half; also a fully established given name in English on its own.
- Emilito — Spanish affectionate diminutive, generally used by family and for young children.
- Emil — The standalone German, Polish and Scandinavian form, sometimes used as a shortening in English contexts.
- Also Lio.
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
Emilio
Emilio Estevez (b. 1962) — The Breakfast Club and Mighty Ducks 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 Emilio if you want…
- a name on the way upup 75 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itEmilio runs 4 syllables, Evan 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Emi, Milo and Emilito
- a newer arrivalEmilio entered the US charts in 1882
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 Emilio's 4
- a name that charts abroad tooEvan is on the national lists of Canada and France
- a long American recordEvan was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Emilio
Strengths
- Spelled the same way in Spanish and Italian, and close to the German and Polish Emil — it travels across languages with almost no adjustment.
- Reads phonetically to most English speakers on a first look, even those who have never met one.
- Has real short forms already in circulation — Emi, Milo, Emilito — rather than ones a family has to invent.
To consider
- It sits very close to Emilia, Emily and Emiliano, all of them well used. Expect occasional mishearing, and a few people asking which one you said.
- English mouths tend to stretch it to four syllables and sometimes soften the opening vowel toward 'uh-MEE-lee-oh'. Nothing breaks, but the crisp Spanish version may need repeating in some rooms.
- Milo, the most natural English shortening, has become popular in its own right — a child may end up known by a name you did not exactly choose.
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
Emilio
53%chance Emilio feels dated by 2040
Emilio 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.
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 Emilio 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 Emilio and Evan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Emilio or Evan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Emilio or Evan?
- Evan, in 2025: Evan ranked #153 with 2,412 babies; Emilio ranked #154 with 2,397 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Emilio or Evan?
- Emilio. Over the last five years Emilio moved up 75 places; Evan moved down 48 places.
- Which is the older name, Emilio or Evan?
- Emilio entered the US charts in 1882; Evan was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Evan is the older name.
- How many people are named Emilio and Evan?
- About 48,500 people named Emilio 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 Emilios or Evans in the classroom?
- Emilio 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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