Head to head · Boys' names
George vs Giovanni
#126 vs #123 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Giovanni is a whisker ahead (#123 vs #126 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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, George leads 4 measures of 6; Giovanni 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: George #4, Giovanni — — George higher
- 1890s: George #4, Giovanni — — George higher
- 1900s: George #4, Giovanni #975 — George higher
- 1910s: George #6, Giovanni #1446 — George higher
- 1920s: George #7, Giovanni #2407 — George higher
- 1930s: George #9, Giovanni #2826 — George higher
- 1940s: George #15, Giovanni #3654 — George higher
- 1950s: George #26, Giovanni #2301 — George higher
- 1960s: George #34, Giovanni #1054 — George higher
- 1970s: George #50, Giovanni #700 — George higher
- 1980s: George #70, Giovanni #493 — George higher
- 1990s: George #108, Giovanni #270 — George higher
- 2000s: George #143, Giovanni #168 — George higher
- 2010s: George #142, Giovanni #131 — Giovanni higher
- 2020s: George #132, Giovanni #122 — Giovanni higher
George stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Giovanni has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | George | Giovanni |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #4 | — |
| 1890s | #4 | — |
| 1900s | #4 | #975 |
| 1910s | #6 | #1446 |
| 1920s | #7 | #2407 |
| 1930s | #9 | #2826 |
| 1940s | #15 | #3654 |
| 1950s | #26 | #2301 |
| 1960s | #34 | #1054 |
| 1970s | #50 | #700 |
| 1980s | #70 | #493 |
| 1990s | #108 | #270 |
| 2000s | #143 | #168 |
| 2010s | #142 | #131 |
| 2020s | #132 | #122 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
George
- England & Wales#6
- Scotland#50
- Canada#92
Giovanni
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
George
farmer, one who works the earth
From Greek geōrgos, a compound of gē 'earth' and ergon 'work'.
Geōrgos → Georgios → Georgius → Georges → George
How it traveled
The Greek name Georgios was borne by a soldier martyred in the eastern Roman Empire in the early fourth century — Saint George, whose cult spread through Byzantium and reached western Europe with the Crusades, dragon and all. England adopted him as patron saint in the later Middle Ages, but the given name stayed surprisingly uncommon there until the Hanoverian succession of 1714 put a George on the throne, followed by five more.
Giovanni
God is gracious
From the Hebrew name Yohanan, 'Yahweh is gracious' — the same root that gives English John, Spanish Juan and French Jean.
Yohanan → Iōannēs → Iohannes → Giovanni
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Yohanan and reaches Italy by way of Greek Iōannēs and Latin Iohannes, spread through Christian Europe by the two Johns of the New Testament — the Baptist and the Evangelist. Italian reshaped Iohannes into Giovanni, and it became a standard of the peninsula: Giovanni Boccaccio, author of The Decameron, and Giovanni Bellini, the great Venetian painter, both carried it in the centuries when it was already ordinary.
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
George
JORJ
One syllable, both g's soft. The French Georges (ZHORZH) and Spanish Jorge (HOR-hay) are the same name pronounced by their own rules.
- Georgie — The main informal short form in English, used for children and within families; sometimes kept for life.
- Geo — A clipped, casual form, mostly written — in texts, signatures and nicknames among friends.
- Dod — A traditional Scottish pet form of George, still heard in Scotland and generally unfamiliar elsewhere.
- Gee — An initial-based nickname, informal and usually family-only.
Giovanni
joh-VAH-nee
In Italian the opening 'Gio' is a single syllable, giving three beats: joh-VAH-nee. Many American speakers say four, jee-oh-VAH-nee, and both are widely heard here.
- Gio — The most common everyday short form in the US; also used for Giorgio and Giovanna, so it is shared.
- Gianni — A long-established Italian contraction that stands fully on its own as a given name.
- Vanni — Clipped from the end rather than the front; more familiar in Italy than in the US.
- Nino — An affectionate Italian form, traditionally used within the family.
- Also Giovannino.
Who has carried each name
George
George Washington (b. 1732) — First president of the United States
George Clooney (b. 1961) — Ocean's Eleven star with two Oscars
George Orwell (b. 1903) — Wrote 1984 and Animal Farm
Giovanni
Giovanni Boccaccio (b. 1313) — Wrote The Decameron
Giovanni Bellini (b. 1430) — Master of the Venetian Renaissance
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 George if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesGeorge is 1 syllable to Giovanni's 4
- a name that charts abroad tooGeorge is on the national lists of England & Wales, Scotland and Canada
- a long American recordGeorge was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Giovanni
Choose Giovanni if you want…
- a name with more sound in itGiovanni runs 4 syllables, George 1
- a newer arrivalGiovanni entered the US charts in 1907
- a name that feels very nowGiovanni is holding its place on the charts
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
George
Strengths
- Spelled one way and recognized on sight — almost nobody has to ask how to write it.
- Charts in England and Wales, Scotland and Canada as well as the US, so it travels without translation.
- An unbroken record from the early Christian centuries through the English kings to now.
To consider
- It is strongly represented among older generations in the US, and some people will hear it as a grandfather's name before they hear it as a baby's. That impression is fading, but it hasn't gone.
- The name arrives with a lot of company: presidents, kings, a famous cartoon monkey. Expect the occasional joke and the occasional assumption about who he was named for.
- In England and Wales it is far more common than in the US, so British relatives may find it ordinary while American classmates find it distinctive.
Giovanni
Strengths
- Belongs to the John family, so it has a recognizable relative in nearly every European language — John, Juan, Jean, Ivan, Johannes.
- Two ready-made short forms, Gio and Gianni, both in real use and both able to stand alone.
- A documented record stretching back to medieval Italy, with no gap since it first appeared in US records.
To consider
- The spelling trips people: one v, two n's. Expect Giovani and Giovannie on forms and name tags for life, and a short correction habit that becomes automatic.
- Three syllables in Italian, four in most American mouths. Your family may say it one way and the school another, and both will feel correct to whoever is speaking.
- It signals Italian heritage clearly and immediately — a pleasure if that is your family's story, worth a thought if it isn't.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
George
12%chance George feels dated by 2040
George has held the top-100 across 11 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Giovanni
40%chance Giovanni feels dated by 2040
Giovanni 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 George and Giovanni 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 George and Giovanni?
Put both to the vote.
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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 George and Giovanni — the same style, ranked by the same records.
George or Giovanni — the short answers
- Which is more popular, George or Giovanni?
- Giovanni, in 2025: Giovanni ranked #123 with 2,939 babies; George ranked #126 with 2,848 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, George or Giovanni?
- George. Over the last five years George moved up 6 places; Giovanni moved down 3 places.
- Which is the older name, George or Giovanni?
- George was already in use when US records began in 1880; Giovanni entered the US charts in 1907. On the American record, George is the older name.
- How many people are named George and Giovanni?
- About 571,000 people named George are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 87,500 people named Giovanni are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Georges or Giovannis in the classroom?
- George will almost certainly be the only one in school. Giovanni 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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