Head to head · Girls' names
Faye vs Louise
#514 vs #514 in 2025 · both back after a long quiet spell
Faye and Louise share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#514). 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, Louise leads 2 measures of 6; Faye 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: Faye #417, Louise #37 — Louise higher
- 1890s: Faye #261, Louise #38 — Louise higher
- 1900s: Faye #212, Louise #27 — Louise higher
- 1910s: Faye #201, Louise #18 — Louise higher
- 1920s: Faye #197, Louise #25 — Louise higher
- 1930s: Faye #160, Louise #44 — Louise higher
- 1940s: Faye #177, Louise #79 — Louise higher
- 1950s: Faye #264, Louise #146 — Louise higher
- 1960s: Faye #500, Louise #281 — Louise higher
- 1970s: Faye #884, Louise #624 — Louise higher
- 1980s: Faye #1321, Louise #856 — Louise higher
- 1990s: Faye #2246, Louise #1354 — Louise higher
- 2000s: Faye #1801, Louise #1867 — Faye higher
- 2010s: Faye #973, Louise #1134 — Faye higher
- 2020s: Faye #568, Louise #600 — Faye higher
Louise stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Faye has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Faye | Louise |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #417 | #37 |
| 1890s | #261 | #38 |
| 1900s | #212 | #27 |
| 1910s | #201 | #18 |
| 1920s | #197 | #25 |
| 1930s | #160 | #44 |
| 1940s | #177 | #79 |
| 1950s | #264 | #146 |
| 1960s | #500 | #281 |
| 1970s | #884 | #624 |
| 1980s | #1321 | #856 |
| 1990s | #2246 | #1354 |
| 2000s | #1801 | #1867 |
| 2010s | #973 | #1134 |
| 2020s | #568 | #600 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Faye
Not charting outside the US.
Louise
- France#1
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Faye
fairy (from Middle English fay)
Faye is usually traced to fay, 'fairy,' which came into English from Old French fae. It has also been used as a short form of Faith, and the two roads arrive at the same spelling.
fata (Latin) → fae (Old French) → fay (Middle English) → Faye
How it traveled
Fay came into English from Old French in the Middle Ages, and the spelling Faye grew up beside it as a given name. It is easy to confuse with fey, but the two words are unrelated: fey comes from Old English fæge, 'doomed to die,' and drifted toward 'otherworldly' only much later, partly under the pull of fay.
Louise
famous in battle
Two Germanic elements, the first meaning fame or renown and the second meaning battle or war. The compound is very old and its sense is secure, whatever route any particular family took to the French form.
Hludwig → Louis → Louise
How it traveled
Very few names come back. A name that has peaked and fallen usually keeps falling for a century and then stays where it lands; the ones that return are rare enough to be worth noticing.
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
Faye
FAY
One syllable, rhyming with day; the final e is silent.
Louise
loo-EEZ
Two syllables with the weight at the back and a z on the end. The masculine form drops its final consonant entirely, which is the main thing English speakers get wrong about the pair.
- Lou — The front alone; completely unisex and entirely established.
- Weezy — Built from the back sound; informal, affectionate and rather American.
- Lulu — Doubled from the opening; light and used mostly in childhood.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Faye if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesFaye is 1 syllable to Louise's 2
- a name that stays wholeno recorded short form for Faye
Choose Louise if you want…
- a name with more sound in itLouise runs 2 syllables, Faye 1
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Lou, Weezy and Lulu
- a name that charts abroad tooLouise is on the national lists of France
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
Faye
Strengths
- One syllable, said the same way by every English speaker.
- Works as a first name or as a short middle name between longer ones.
- An old English word and a famous actress stand behind it.
To consider
- It will be spelled Fay or Fae as often as Faye, so expect to spell it out.
- It sounds exactly like fey, a word now meaning whimsical or otherworldly, and a few people will make the link.
- A very few boys are recorded with it; as a name long given to girls, it will read as feminine.
Louise
Strengths
- It is currently returning, which means it sounds neither dated nor invented.
- Lou is a short form that works in any register and at any age.
- It is recognized across Europe with almost no change of spelling.
To consider
- Louisa is a separate and equally standard name that will be substituted.
- The pronunciation of the masculine form trips people up and reflects onto this one.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Faye
30%chance Faye feels dated by 2040
Faye is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Louise
12%chance Louise feels dated by 2040
Louise has held the top-100 across 7 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
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 Faye and Louise in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Faye and Louise?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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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 Faye and Louise — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Faye or Louise — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Faye or Louise?
- They tie in 2025: Faye ranked #514 with 579 babies; Louise ranked #514 with 579 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Faye or Louise?
- Faye. Over the last five years Faye moved up 173 places; Louise moved up 165 places.
- Which is the older name, Faye or Louise?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Faye and Louise?
- About 35,000 people named Faye are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 83,500 people named Louise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Fayes or Louises in the classroom?
- Faye will almost certainly be the only one in school. Louise 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
Keep playing
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