Head to head · Girls' names
Genesis vs Grace
#66 vs #38 in 2025
Grace is ahead (#38 vs #66 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Grace is stepping back from its peak, Genesis is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Genesis 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, Grace leads 5 measures of 6; Genesis leads 0.
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: Genesis —, Grace #15 — Grace higher
- 1890s: Genesis —, Grace #16 — Grace higher
- 1900s: Genesis —, Grace #18 — Grace higher
- 1910s: Genesis —, Grace #27 — Grace higher
- 1920s: Genesis —, Grace #44 — Grace higher
- 1930s: Genesis —, Grace #82 — Grace higher
- 1940s: Genesis —, Grace #141 — Grace higher
- 1950s: Genesis —, Grace #198 — Grace higher
- 1960s: Genesis #6371, Grace #266 — Grace higher
- 1970s: Genesis #3354, Grace #366 — Grace higher
- 1980s: Genesis #1544, Grace #234 — Grace higher
- 1990s: Genesis #348, Grace #97 — Grace higher
- 2000s: Genesis #174, Grace #16 — Grace higher
- 2010s: Genesis #64, Grace #21 — Grace higher
- 2020s: Genesis #63, Grace #36 — Grace higher
Grace stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Genesis | Grace |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #15 |
| 1890s | — | #16 |
| 1900s | — | #18 |
| 1910s | — | #27 |
| 1920s | — | #44 |
| 1930s | — | #82 |
| 1940s | — | #141 |
| 1950s | — | #198 |
| 1960s | #6371 | #266 |
| 1970s | #3354 | #366 |
| 1980s | #1544 | #234 |
| 1990s | #348 | #97 |
| 2000s | #174 | #16 |
| 2010s | #64 | #21 |
| 2020s | #63 | #36 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Genesis
Not charting outside the US.
Grace
- Scotland#5
- England & Wales#25
- Canada#42
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Genesis
origin, birth, coming into being
From Greek génesis, 'origin' or 'birth'. The Greek translators of the Hebrew scriptures used it as the title of the first book, rendering the Hebrew opening word bereshit, 'in the beginning'; Latin and then English kept the Greek title unchanged.
génesis (Greek) → Genesis (Latin) → Genesis (English) → Génesis (Spanish)
How it traveled
The word traveled long before the name did. Greek génesis meant origin or coming-into-being; the Septuagint translators applied it as the title of the Bible's first book, the Latin Vulgate kept it, and English inherited it whole, which is why the spelling has never needed adjusting in any of those languages.
Grace
Grace, favor, thanks
From Latin gratia, which carried all three senses: charm, kindness freely given, and gratitude. In Christian use it came to mean divine favor specifically, which is the sense the Puritan namers had in mind.
Gratia → Grace
How it traveled
The root is Latin gratia, which passed into the Romance languages as Grazia, Gracia and Graça, often attached to titles of the Virgin Mary. English took it up not through those routes but through the Reformation habit of naming children after Christian virtues — Faith, Prudence, Mercy, Grace — and it traveled to North America with those families.
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
Genesis
JEN-uh-sis
Stress on the first syllable, exactly as the book title is read aloud in English. Spanish speakers say it JEH-neh-sees, with the accent written in: Génesis.
- Gen — The most common everyday clip, used informally by family and friends.
- Genny — Informal, sometimes written Jenny; overlaps in sound with the unrelated name Jenny.
- Gigi — Playful and informal; also stands alone as a given name in French and Italian usage.
- Nessa — Drawn from the end of the name; used informally, and independently a name of its own.
- Also Sisi.
Grace
GRAYSS
One syllable, rhyming with face. The same in British and American English, and rarely misheard or misspelled.
- Gracie — The standard informal short form for well over a century, and long established as a given name in its own right.
- Gracey — Spelling variant of Gracie, used informally.
- Gray — An occasional modern clipping, informal and much less widespread than Gracie.
Who has carried each name
Genesis
No documented entry for Genesis yet.
Grace
Grace Kelly (b. 1929) — Oscar-winning actress who became Princess of Monaco
Grace Hopper (b. 1906) — Computing pioneer and Navy rear admiral behind COBOL
Grace Jones (b. 1948) — Fearless singer and style icon of the '80s
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Genesis if you want…
- a name fewer children share#66 in 2025 — genesis will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with more sound in itGenesis runs 3 syllables, Grace 1
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Gen, Genny and Gigi
- a newer arrivalGenesis entered the US charts in 1964
Choose Grace if you want…
- a name most people already know#38 in 2025, 5,127 babies that year
- a name with fewer syllablesGrace is 1 syllable to Genesis's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooGrace is on the national lists of Scotland, England & Wales and Canada
- a long American recordGrace was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Genesis
Strengths
- Spelled and pronounced correctly on first encounter by almost anyone literate in English — the word is already in everyone's vocabulary.
- The meaning is transparent, not something a parent has to explain or look up.
- Crosses into Spanish with only an added accent mark, which matters in the regions where it is strongest.
To consider
- The name announces a scriptural connection whether or not you intend one. Some families want exactly that; others find strangers drawing conclusions about their beliefs from a birth announcement.
- Its life as a given name is genuinely recent, so a child will meet few adult Genesises — there is no older generation of namesakes to grow into, and some people still hear the British rock band first.
- Boys with this spelling are a small minority, so a boy named Genesis should expect the occasional assumption on a class list or form.
Grace
Strengths
- One settled spelling that English speakers read correctly on sight, and one syllable to say — no correcting, no repeating.
- An unbroken record in English use since the Puritan era, so it has never had to be revived.
- Ready-made informal form in Gracie, which also works as a standalone name if she prefers it.
To consider
- It is an ordinary English word as well as a name — grace period, saying grace, graceful. Most bearers never notice; a few get tired of the wordplay.
- Its origin is specifically Christian, and the virtue-name tradition it belongs to is still audible to many people. Worth deciding whether that reading suits your family.
- Because it is so heavily used in the middle slot, some first-name-and-Grace combinations can sound like a default rather than a decision.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Genesis
40%chance Genesis feels dated by 2040
Genesis 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.
Grace
12%chance Grace feels dated by 2040
Grace has held the top-100 across 10 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 Genesis and Grace 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 Genesis and Grace?
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 Genesis and Grace — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Genesis or Grace — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Genesis or Grace?
- Grace, in 2025: Grace ranked #38 with 5,127 babies; Genesis ranked #66 with 3,527 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Genesis or Grace?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Genesis moved down 4 places; Grace moved down 10 places.
- Which is the older name, Genesis or Grace?
- Genesis entered the US charts in 1964; Grace was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Grace is the older name.
- How many people are named Genesis and Grace?
- About 93,000 people named Genesis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 316,000 people named Grace are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Genesiss or Graces in the classroom?
- Genesis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Grace 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Genesis, Grace and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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