Head to head · Girls' names
Emory vs Heidi
#339 vs #340 in 2025
Emory is a whisker ahead (#339 vs #340 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Emory is climbing the charts fast, Heidi is holding its place on the charts.
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, Emory leads 4 measures of 6; Heidi 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
- 1910s: Emory #3798, Heidi — — Emory higher
- 1920s: Emory #4050, Heidi #3394 — Heidi higher
- 1930s: Emory #3947, Heidi #2244 — Heidi higher
- 1940s: Emory #4097, Heidi #790 — Heidi higher
- 1950s: Emory #5532, Heidi #309 — Heidi higher
- 1960s: Emory #6539, Heidi #121 — Heidi higher
- 1970s: Emory #9327, Heidi #73 — Heidi higher
- 1980s: Emory #7876, Heidi #119 — Heidi higher
- 1990s: Emory #3521, Heidi #274 — Heidi higher
- 2000s: Emory #1758, Heidi #319 — Heidi higher
- 2010s: Emory #736, Heidi #347 — Heidi higher
- 2020s: Emory #405, Heidi #364 — Heidi higher
Heidi stood higher in 11 of 12 decades; Heidi has held the lead since the 1920s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Emory | Heidi |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3798 | — |
| 1920s | #4050 | #3394 |
| 1930s | #3947 | #2244 |
| 1940s | #4097 | #790 |
| 1950s | #5532 | #309 |
| 1960s | #6539 | #121 |
| 1970s | #9327 | #73 |
| 1980s | #7876 | #119 |
| 1990s | #3521 | #274 |
| 2000s | #1758 | #319 |
| 2010s | #736 | #347 |
| 2020s | #405 | #364 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Emory
Not charting outside the US.
Heidi
- Scotland#91
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Emory
from Germanic elements meaning roughly "work" and "ruler, power"
The second element, Germanic rīc, "power, ruler," is agreed on. The first is read two ways: amal, "work, labor, vigor," giving something like "industrious ruler"; or the name of the Amal, the Gothic royal line, which would make it "ruler of the Amals." Both readings are taken seriously, and neither has pushed the other out.
Amalric → Emmerich → Emery → Emory
How it traveled
The oldest form is the Germanic Amalric, which shows up in medieval Europe as Emmerich and in France as Aymeric and Amaury. Norman speakers brought it to England, where it settled as Emery and, like so many medieval given names, hardened into a surname passed down through families.
Heidi
noble kind, noble sort
Heidi is a pet form of the Germanic Adelheid, from adal 'noble' and heit 'kind, sort, being'. The same root gives Adelaide.
Adalheidis → Adelheid → Heidi
How it traveled
The name begins as Adalheidis in Old High German, a compound of 'noble' and 'kind', and became Adelheid across the German-speaking lands. In Switzerland and southern Germany it was clipped, as long names are, to Heidi.
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
Emory
EM-uh-ree
Three syllables said carefully, often two in quick speech: EM-ree. Identical to Emery — the spelling is the only difference.
- Em — The usual informal clip, shared with Emma, Emily and Emerson; works for a boy or a girl.
- Emmy — Informal and mostly used for girls; also stands alone as a given name.
- Ems — Casual, more common among friends and siblings than adults.
- Rory — Occasionally drawn from the second half; also a full given name in its own right for either sex.
Heidi
HY-dee
The German 'ei' says 'eye', so the first syllable rhymes with 'high'. English and German say it the same way, which is why the spelling never had to change.
- Heidi — Already the short form of Adelheid, and used as a complete given name in English, German and Scandinavian records alike.
- Heids — Informal, spoken rather than written; friends and family use rather than anything official.
- Didi — A casual reshaping heard within families; does not stand alone as a given name in English.
- Adelheid — The formal long form in German-speaking countries, if a longer version is wanted on paper.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Emory if you want…
- a name on the way upup 107 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itEmory runs 3 syllables, Heidi 2
Choose Heidi if you want…
- a name holding steadyHeidi is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesHeidi is 2 syllables to Emory's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooHeidi is on the national lists of Scotland
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
Emory
Strengths
- Ready-made short forms — Em, Emmy — that have been in English use for generations, so nothing has to be invented.
- Works for a boy or a girl without adjustment, as surname-derived names generally do.
- A documented line back to medieval Germanic Amalric, with living relatives in German, French, Italian and Hungarian.
To consider
- Emery is the older and better-known spelling, so expect to spell Emory out often, and to see it corrected on forms and class lists for life.
- The Em- shelf is crowded — Emma, Emily, Emmett, Emerson — and Emory is easily misheard as one of them, especially over the phone.
- Most children given this spelling now are girls, so a boy named Emory will sometimes meet an assumption before he walks in the room. It is a small thing, and it is answered by saying his name.
Heidi
Strengths
- Spelled and said the same way in English and German — no adjustment needed when it crosses borders.
- Two syllables, phonetic in English, and almost never misheard once said aloud.
- Has a formal long form available, Adelheid or Adelaide, for anyone who wants one on a document.
To consider
- The Spyri novel is inseparable from the name. Expect Alps, goats and grandfathers to come up — affectionately, but often, and for life.
- It is a diminutive by origin, so there is no built-in longer version unless you register Adelheid or Adelaide and treat Heidi as the everyday name.
- Variant spellings like Heidy and Heidee exist, so the occasional form will come back needing correction — a small, repeated nuisance rather than a real problem.
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 Emory and Heidi 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
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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 Emory and Heidi — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Emory or Heidi — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Emory or Heidi?
- Emory, in 2025: Emory ranked #339 with 899 babies; Heidi ranked #340 with 894 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Emory or Heidi?
- Emory. Over the last five years Emory moved up 107 places; Heidi moved up 41 places.
- Which is the older name, Emory or Heidi?
- Emory entered the US charts in 1915; Heidi entered the US charts in 1929. On the American record, Emory is the older name.
- How many people are named Emory and Heidi?
- About 10,500 people named Emory are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 141,000 people named Heidi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Emorys or Heidis in the classroom?
- Emory will almost certainly be the only one in school. Heidi 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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