Head to head · Girls' names
Emmie vs Leilany
#694 vs #694 in 2025 · Germanic vs Hawaiian roots · both holding its place on the charts
Emmie and Leilany share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#694). 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
On the charts, Emmie leads 3 measures of 6; Leilany 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: Emmie #491, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1890s: Emmie #487, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1900s: Emmie #614, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1910s: Emmie #750, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1920s: Emmie #891, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1930s: Emmie #1026, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1940s: Emmie #1591, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1950s: Emmie #2364, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1960s: Emmie #3598, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1970s: Emmie #5252, Leilany — — Emmie higher
- 1980s: Emmie #5117, Leilany #12362 — Emmie higher
- 1990s: Emmie #4376, Leilany #8962 — Emmie higher
- 2000s: Emmie #1994, Leilany #2475 — Emmie higher
- 2010s: Emmie #987, Leilany #1365 — Emmie higher
- 2020s: Emmie #703, Leilany #746 — Emmie higher
Emmie stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Emmie | Leilany |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #491 | — |
| 1890s | #487 | — |
| 1900s | #614 | — |
| 1910s | #750 | — |
| 1920s | #891 | — |
| 1930s | #1026 | — |
| 1940s | #1591 | — |
| 1950s | #2364 | — |
| 1960s | #3598 | — |
| 1970s | #5252 | — |
| 1980s | #5117 | #12362 |
| 1990s | #4376 | #8962 |
| 2000s | #1994 | #2475 |
| 2010s | #987 | #1365 |
| 2020s | #703 | #746 |
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
Emmie
A pet form of Emma or Emily
Which root you claim decides the meaning. Through Emma, the line goes back to the Germanic element ermen/irmin, 'whole, universal'. Through Emily, it goes back to the Roman family name Aemilius, usually read as 'rival'. Emmie has served both for so long that neither claim can be called the true one — you may fairly take whichever you prefer, or leave it open.
Ermen / Irmin (Germanic element) → Emma → Emily → Emmie
How it traveled
Emmie began as an affectionate shortening rather than a name given at a font. English speakers had two long-established names starting with the same sound — Emma, brought into England by Norman and Anglo-Saxon nobility and rooted in the Germanic ermen, and Emily, from the Roman family name Aemilius — and both were routinely trimmed the same way in speech and in letters.
Leilany
heavenly flowers, or royal child
From Hawaiian lei, a garland or wreath of flowers, and lani, sky, heaven, or royalty. Read together the sense is a heavenly lei — and by extension a royal or beloved child. Leilany is a respelling and carries the same meaning as Leilani.
lei + lani (Hawaiian) → Leilani → Leilany
How it traveled
The name is Hawaiian, built from two ordinary and much-used words of the language, lei and lani, that appear in dozens of Hawaiian names. Leilani reached the wider United States largely through music and film in the twentieth century, most famously the song "Sweet Leilani," written by Harry Owens and recorded by Bing Crosby, which took the Academy Award for best original song in the 1930s.
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
Emmie
EM-ee
Stress on the first syllable. No ambiguity in the saying of it — only in the writing, since Emmie, Emmy and Emmi all sound identical.
- Em — The standard everyday shortening; also used for Emma, Emily and Emmeline, so it travels easily in mixed company.
- Emmy — The same name in a different coat — used interchangeably in speech, and a registered given name of its own in the US and Scandinavia.
- Emms — Informal, mostly among friends and siblings rather than family elders.
- Emmie-Lou — A compound style found in Southern American usage, where double given names are common.
Leilany
lay-LAH-nee
The final y is pronounced ee, exactly as the i in Leilani. Both English and Spanish speakers land on the same four syllables, with the stress on LAH. Some English speakers begin with a lie- sound instead; lay- follows the Hawaiian.
- Lani — The most natural short form; also a standalone Hawaiian given name in its own right.
- Leila — Informal, from the first half; also an established given name of Arabic and Persian origin, which some families like and others find confusing.
- Lei — Very short and informal, mostly used within families.
- Lay — An English-sounding clip of the first syllable, heard among school friends rather than adults.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Emmie if you want…
- a name holding steadyEmmie is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesEmmie is 2 syllables to Leilany's 3
- a long American recordEmmie was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Leilany if you want…
- a name on the way upup 105 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itLeilany runs 3 syllables, Emmie 2
- a newer arrivalLeilany entered the US charts in 1989
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
Emmie
Strengths
- Instantly understood by ear: two familiar syllables that nobody has to ask you to repeat.
- Works as a standalone name or as the short form of Emma, Emily or Emmeline, so a longer legal name remains an option.
- Recognized across German, Finnish, Swedish and Danish as Emmi or Emmy — the sound survives a border crossing intact.
To consider
- The spelling will need repeating. Emmy, Emmi and Emmie sound exactly alike, and Emmy is the form most people write first — expect a lifetime of gentle correcting.
- It lives inside a very crowded sound family. Emma, Emily, Emmett and Emerson are all in wide use, so a classroom may hold several children who answer to Em even if only one is Emmie.
- As a pet form promoted to full name, it stays affectionate in register. Some carriers reach for a longer version on a résumé, which is easy enough if you give one at birth and pointless to worry about if you don't.
Leilany
Strengths
- The sound is already widely familiar through Leilani, so most people can repeat it correctly after hearing it once.
- Reads the same way in English and Spanish, since a final y and a final i both give the ee sound.
- Comes with short forms that already stand alone as names — Lani, Leila — so there is room to grow into or out of.
To consider
- The standard spelling is Leilani, and that is what people will default to in writing. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections on forms, name tags and email addresses.
- Lei and lani are living words in the Hawaiian language, not decorative syllables. Some families like knowing that; others prefer not to respell a word from a language they do not speak.
- This spelling's wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is still a child. That means no adult namesakes to point to yet, but also that it will sound of its generation for a long while.
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 Emmie and Leilany in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Emmie and Leilany?
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
Where Emmie and Leilany each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Emmie or Leilany — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Emmie or Leilany?
- They tie in 2025: Emmie ranked #694 with 407 babies; Leilany ranked #694 with 407 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Emmie or Leilany?
- Leilany. Over the last five years Emmie moved down 76 places; Leilany moved up 105 places.
- Which is the older name, Emmie or Leilany?
- Emmie was already in use when US records began in 1880; Leilany entered the US charts in 1989. On the American record, Emmie is the older name.
- How many people are named Emmie and Leilany?
- About 7,600 people named Emmie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,900 people named Leilany are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Emmies or Leilanys in the classroom?
- Emmie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leilany 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
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