Head to head · Boys' names
Frederick vs Travis
#435 vs #434 in 2025
Travis is a whisker ahead (#434 vs #435 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Travis is stepping back from its peak, Frederick is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Frederick 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, Travis leads 3 measures of 6; Frederick 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
- 1880s: Frederick #39, Travis #657 — Frederick higher
- 1890s: Frederick #52, Travis #695 — Frederick higher
- 1900s: Frederick #65, Travis #565 — Frederick higher
- 1910s: Frederick #55, Travis #420 — Frederick higher
- 1920s: Frederick #63, Travis #378 — Frederick higher
- 1930s: Frederick #73, Travis #308 — Frederick higher
- 1940s: Frederick #72, Travis #330 — Frederick higher
- 1950s: Frederick #89, Travis #368 — Frederick higher
- 1960s: Frederick #112, Travis #228 — Frederick higher
- 1970s: Frederick #135, Travis #52 — Travis higher
- 1980s: Frederick #196, Travis #42 — Travis higher
- 1990s: Frederick #311, Travis #66 — Travis higher
- 2000s: Frederick #463, Travis #158 — Travis higher
- 2010s: Frederick #506, Travis #254 — Travis higher
- 2020s: Frederick #467, Travis #379 — Travis higher
Frederick stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Travis has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Frederick | Travis |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #39 | #657 |
| 1890s | #52 | #695 |
| 1900s | #65 | #565 |
| 1910s | #55 | #420 |
| 1920s | #63 | #378 |
| 1930s | #73 | #308 |
| 1940s | #72 | #330 |
| 1950s | #89 | #368 |
| 1960s | #112 | #228 |
| 1970s | #135 | #52 |
| 1980s | #196 | #42 |
| 1990s | #311 | #66 |
| 2000s | #463 | #158 |
| 2010s | #506 | #254 |
| 2020s | #467 | #379 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Frederick
- England & Wales#55
Travis
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Frederick
Peaceful ruler
Two Germanic elements: one about peace, one about rule or power. The compound is transparent in German, where both halves are still recognizable words, and completely opaque in English, which borrowed the whole thing and none of the parts.
Fridurih → Friedrich → Frederick
How it traveled
The name means peace and the kings who carried it spent their reigns at war. The Prussian line took it four times, fought Austria for a province and kept it, fought most of Europe at once and survived, and built a state whose defining institution was its army; the great one of them wrote a treatise against political cynicism as a young man and then conducted a reign that reads as an argument against it.
Travis
from a crossing or a toll
An occupational surname from Norman French, describing a man stationed at a river crossing or a barrier. The word behind it is the same one that gives English traverse.
traverse → Travers → Travis
How it traveled
The most repeated story about him should be treated carefully. Every Texan schoolchild learns that he drew a line in the sand with his sword and asked the men who would stay to step across it.
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
Frederick
FRED-rik
Two or three syllables depending on how carefully the middle one is said; most English speakers give it two. German gives all three and pronounces the ch as a rasp.
- Fred — The standard English short form; plain, adult and universally understood.
- Freddie — The same softened; unisex, warm and entirely current.
- Rick — Built from the back; a complete given name in its own right.
Travis
TRAV-iss
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The spelling gives no trouble and the name is never mispronounced.
- Trav — The front alone; brisk, informal and by far the commonest short form.
- Vis — The back used alone; unusual and rarely heard outside families.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Frederick if you want…
- a name on the way upup 49 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooFrederick is on the national lists of England & Wales
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Travis
Choose Travis if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsTravis is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowTravis is stepping back from its peak
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
Frederick
Strengths
- Three short forms in three quite different registers.
- The meaning is concrete and can be given to a child in two words.
- It has been in continuous English use for a thousand years.
To consider
- The record carries it for girls in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- Frederic and Fredrick are both current and spelling it out is a permanent job.
- It is a long formal name and other people will shorten it immediately.
Travis
Strengths
- The spelling and the sound agree completely with nothing to explain.
- Trav is a short form that sounds entirely current.
- It carries a specific and identifiable history rather than a vague one.
To consider
- Its peak generation is recent enough to date the name to a decade.
- The historical association is regional and very strong in one state.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl 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
Frederick
12%chance Frederick feels dated by 2040
Frederick has held the top-100 across 8 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Travis
40%chance Travis feels dated by 2040
Travis sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
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 Frederick and Travis 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
Still torn between Frederick and Travis?
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 than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
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 Frederick and Travis — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Frederick or Travis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Frederick or Travis?
- Travis, in 2025: Travis ranked #434 with 732 babies; Frederick ranked #435 with 728 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Frederick or Travis?
- Frederick. Over the last five years Frederick moved up 49 places; Travis moved down 97 places.
- Which is the older name, Frederick or Travis?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Frederick and Travis?
- About 136,000 people named Frederick are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 283,000 people named Travis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Fredericks or Traviss in the classroom?
- Frederick will almost certainly be the only one in school. Travis 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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