Head to head · Girls' names
Gianna vs Grace
#33 vs #38 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Gianna is a whisker ahead (#33 vs #38 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. 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
The tape is even: Gianna and Grace each lead 2 measures of 6.
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: Gianna —, Grace #15 — Grace higher
- 1890s: Gianna —, Grace #16 — Grace higher
- 1900s: Gianna —, Grace #18 — Grace higher
- 1910s: Gianna —, Grace #27 — Grace higher
- 1920s: Gianna —, Grace #44 — Grace higher
- 1930s: Gianna —, Grace #82 — Grace higher
- 1940s: Gianna —, Grace #141 — Grace higher
- 1950s: Gianna #4355, Grace #198 — Grace higher
- 1960s: Gianna #2206, Grace #266 — Grace higher
- 1970s: Gianna #2121, Grace #366 — Grace higher
- 1980s: Gianna #1569, Grace #234 — Grace higher
- 1990s: Gianna #489, Grace #97 — Grace higher
- 2000s: Gianna #132, Grace #16 — Grace higher
- 2010s: Gianna #82, Grace #21 — Grace higher
- 2020s: Gianna #21, Grace #36 — Gianna higher
Grace stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Gianna took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Gianna | Grace |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #15 |
| 1890s | — | #16 |
| 1900s | — | #18 |
| 1910s | — | #27 |
| 1920s | — | #44 |
| 1930s | — | #82 |
| 1940s | — | #141 |
| 1950s | #4355 | #198 |
| 1960s | #2206 | #266 |
| 1970s | #2121 | #366 |
| 1980s | #1569 | #234 |
| 1990s | #489 | #97 |
| 2000s | #132 | #16 |
| 2010s | #82 | #21 |
| 2020s | #21 | #36 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Gianna
- Canada#92
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
Gianna
God is gracious
From Hebrew Yochanan, "Yahweh is gracious" — the source of John and all its feminine forms.
Yochanan → Ioanna → Iohanna → Giovanna → Gianna
How it traveled
The root is Hebrew Yochanan, carried into Greek as Ioannes and Ioanna by the translators and writers of the Bible, then into Latin as Iohannes and Iohanna. Italian turned the masculine into Giovanni and the feminine into Giovanna, and everyday speech clipped both: Gianni for men, Gianna for women.
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
Gianna
jee-AH-nuh
Also said JAH-nuh, closer to the Italian, where the i is only there to soften the g. Both are standard in the US; expect to state which one you use.
- Gia — The most common short form, and widely used as a standalone given name in its own right.
- Gigi — Informal and affectionate; also used independently and as a grandmother name in some families.
- Anna — Drawn from the tail of the name; formal enough to stand alone on a document.
- Nina — An informal Italian-style pet form, less common in American use.
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
Gianna
No documented entry for Gianna 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 Gianna if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsGianna is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itGianna runs 3 syllables, Grace 1
- a newer arrivalGianna entered the US charts in 1951
- a name that feels very nowGianna is stepping back from its peak
Choose Grace if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesGrace is 1 syllable to Gianna'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
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 82% for Gianna
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
Gianna
Strengths
- Belongs to one of the oldest continuously used name families in Europe, alongside Jane, Joan, Joanna, Jeanne and Juana.
- Two clear short forms already in general use — Gia and Gigi — plus the full name for formal settings.
- Short, two or three syllables, with no silent letters and no consonant clusters to trip over.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate — jee-AH-nuh and JAH-nuh — and she will likely correct people in both directions for life.
- Spelling is easy to hear wrong: Giana, Jiana, Gianna and Johanna all sound close enough to be guessed at.
- The American wave is very recent, so the name reads as contemporary and its bearers skew strongly toward children rather than adults.
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
Gianna
82%chance Gianna feels dated by 2040
Gianna is coming down from a big peak (#13 in 2020). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Gianna 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 Gianna 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 Gianna and Grace — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Gianna or Grace — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Gianna or Grace?
- Gianna, in 2025: Gianna ranked #33 with 5,634 babies; Grace ranked #38 with 5,127 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Gianna or Grace?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Gianna moved down 20 places; Grace moved down 10 places.
- Which is the older name, Gianna or Grace?
- Gianna entered the US charts in 1951; 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 Gianna and Grace?
- About 109,000 people named Gianna 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 Giannas or Graces in the classroom?
- Gianna 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 Gianna, Grace and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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