Head to head · Girls' names
Genesis vs Paisley
#66 vs #67 in 2025
Genesis is a whisker ahead (#66 vs #67 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Genesis is holding its place on the charts, Paisley is stepping back from its peak.
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, Genesis leads 4 measures of 6; Paisley 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
- 1960s: Genesis #6371, Paisley #6117 — Paisley higher
- 1970s: Genesis #3354, Paisley #6806 — Genesis higher
- 1980s: Genesis #1544, Paisley #5366 — Genesis higher
- 1990s: Genesis #348, Paisley #2166 — Genesis higher
- 2000s: Genesis #174, Paisley #1169 — Genesis higher
- 2010s: Genesis #64, Paisley #91 — Genesis higher
- 2020s: Genesis #63, Paisley #56 — Paisley higher
Genesis stood higher in 5 of 7 decades; Paisley took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Genesis | Paisley |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | #6371 | #6117 |
| 1970s | #3354 | #6806 |
| 1980s | #1544 | #5366 |
| 1990s | #348 | #2166 |
| 2000s | #174 | #1169 |
| 2010s | #64 | #91 |
| 2020s | #63 | #56 |
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
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.
Paisley
Most likely 'church' — from a Brittonic word drawn from Latin basilica
The place appears in twelfth-century records as Passeleth. The leading reading traces it to a Brittonic *passeleg, borrowed from Latin basilica, 'major church' — fitting for a settlement that grew around an abbey. A competing proposal reads it as Old English elements meaning something like 'pasture clearing'. Neither has fully won out, and as a given name Paisley carries the town and the fabric far more than any etymology.
Passeleth → Paisley (Renfrewshire place name) → Paisley (Scottish surname) → Paisley (given name)
How it traveled
The name is Scottish and geographical before it is anything else: a burgh west of Glasgow, home to a Cluniac priory founded in the 1160s that later became Paisley Abbey. From the place came a habitational surname, carried by families who left Scotland for North America and Ulster.
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.
Paisley
PAYZ-lee
Stress on the first syllable. The s is voiced, as in the fabric — PAYZ, not PAYSS — and this is settled in both American and Scottish usage.
- Pais — The most common informal clip, usually spelled Pais or Paise and pronounced PAYZ; strictly a household nickname, not used on its own.
- Paisy — An affectionate diminutive within families; also seen as Paizy. No standing as an independent given name.
- Lee — Drawn from the second syllable. Stands alone as a given name and surname in its own right, so it reads as a separate name rather than a short form.
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 with more sound in itGenesis runs 3 syllables, Paisley 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Gen, Genny and Gigi
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 76% for Paisley
Choose Paisley if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsPaisley is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesPaisley is 2 syllables to Genesis's 3
- a name that feels very nowPaisley 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
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.
Paisley
Strengths
- The spelling is backed by a dictionary word and a real Scottish town, so most people can write it after hearing it once.
- Two syllables, first-syllable stress, no sounds that trouble English speakers of any age.
- A documented record stretching back to twelfth-century Scottish charters, unusually long for a name this new to American nurseries.
To consider
- The fabric association is immediate and permanent. Many people will picture a shawl or a necktie before they think of a person.
- Rival spellings — Paisleigh, Paislee, Paizley — are in circulation, so she may be asked which one she is even though hers is the standard form.
- The name's wave is very recent and still cresting downward, which means nearly every Paisley she meets will be roughly her own age.
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.
Paisley
76%chance Paisley feels dated by 2040
Paisley is coming down from a big peak (#45 in 2015). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Paisley 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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Put both to the vote.
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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
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- all guides
Every list here names both Genesis and Paisley — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Genesis or Paisley — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Genesis or Paisley?
- Genesis, in 2025: Genesis ranked #66 with 3,527 babies; Paisley ranked #67 with 3,508 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Genesis or Paisley?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Genesis moved down 4 places; Paisley moved down 18 places.
- Which is the older name, Genesis or Paisley?
- Genesis entered the US charts in 1964; Paisley entered the US charts in 1966. On the American record, Genesis is the older name.
- How many people are named Genesis and Paisley?
- About 93,000 people named Genesis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 65,000 people named Paisley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Genesiss or Paisleys in the classroom?
- Genesis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Paisley 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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