Head to head · Girls' names
Emory vs Teagan
#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, Teagan is stepping back from its peak.
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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; Teagan 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, Teagan — — Emory higher
- 1920s: Emory #4050, Teagan — — Emory higher
- 1930s: Emory #3947, Teagan — — Emory higher
- 1940s: Emory #4097, Teagan — — Emory higher
- 1950s: Emory #5532, Teagan — — Emory higher
- 1960s: Emory #6539, Teagan — — Emory higher
- 1970s: Emory #9327, Teagan #9010 — Teagan higher
- 1980s: Emory #7876, Teagan #5060 — Teagan higher
- 1990s: Emory #3521, Teagan #1654 — Teagan higher
- 2000s: Emory #1758, Teagan #527 — Teagan higher
- 2010s: Emory #736, Teagan #215 — Teagan higher
- 2020s: Emory #405, Teagan #285 — Teagan higher
The decades split evenly, 6 each; Teagan has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Emory | Teagan |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3798 | — |
| 1920s | #4050 | — |
| 1930s | #3947 | — |
| 1940s | #4097 | — |
| 1950s | #5532 | — |
| 1960s | #6539 | — |
| 1970s | #9327 | #9010 |
| 1980s | #7876 | #5060 |
| 1990s | #3521 | #1654 |
| 2000s | #1758 | #527 |
| 2010s | #736 | #215 |
| 2020s | #405 | #285 |
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
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.
Teagan
Either "poet, storyteller" (Irish) or "fair, lovely" (Welsh)
The Irish road runs through Tadhg, an old given name meaning poet or bard, which produced the surname Ó Tadhgáin, anglicized as Teague, Tighe and Tegan. The Welsh road runs through teg, "fair, beautiful," with the diminutive -an, giving Tegan. Both are genuine; the spelling Teagan sits close enough to each that neither can claim it alone.
Tadhg → Ó Tadhgáin → Teague / Tegan → Teagan
How it traveled
Tadhg was a working name in medieval Ireland — borne by kings of Connacht and Munster — and so common that English speakers eventually used "Teague" as a rough shorthand for an Irishman. From the descendant surname Ó Tadhgáin came Teagan, Tegan and Tighe, carried to America by Irish families and later lifted off the surname shelf as a first name, as Ryan and Brennan were.
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.
Teagan
TEE-gun
TEE-gun is the standard American pronunciation. TAY-gun is heard too, closer to some Irish and Welsh habits, so a bearer may want to state which one early. The Irish ancestor Tadhg itself sounds nothing like either — roughly TYG, rhyming with "tiger" cut short.
- Tee — The everyday short form, used at home and among friends; rarely written down.
- Teags — Informal, mostly from siblings and schoolmates rather than adults.
- T — Initial-only nickname common in sports and classrooms; works for a bearer of either sex.
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, Teagan 2
Choose Teagan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsTeagan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesTeagan is 2 syllables to Emory's 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
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.
Teagan
Strengths
- Short, two syllables, stress on the first — it survives being shouted, and most people spell it correctly after hearing it once.
- Carries a live Irish root: Tadhg is still an ordinary given name in Ireland, so the family line behind it is not a museum piece.
- Sits comfortably beside both single-syllable and long surnames, and the -an ending matches the current run of Rowan, Logan and Nolan.
To consider
- The spelling field is crowded: Teagan, Tegan, Teigan, Teegan and Taegan all exist, so expect to spell it aloud fairly often even though people will say it right.
- TEE-gun and TAY-gun both circulate. Neither is wrong, but the two versions do meet, and correcting the other one becomes a small lifelong habit.
- In the US this is chiefly a girl's name, while its Irish ancestor Tadhg belongs to men and a smaller number of American boys are given Teagan. Worth knowing if the ambiguity on paper matters to you.
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 Teagan in full.
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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 Teagan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Emory or Teagan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Emory or Teagan?
- Emory, in 2025: Emory ranked #339 with 899 babies; Teagan ranked #340 with 894 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Emory or Teagan?
- Emory. Over the last five years Emory moved up 107 places; Teagan moved down 149 places.
- Which is the older name, Emory or Teagan?
- Emory entered the US charts in 1915; Teagan entered the US charts in 1979. On the American record, Emory is the older name.
- How many people are named Emory and Teagan?
- About 10,500 people named Emory are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 29,000 people named Teagan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Emorys or Teagans in the classroom?
- Emory will almost certainly be the only one in school. Teagan 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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