Head to head · Boys' names
Gregory vs Gunnar
#593 vs #612 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Gregory is a whisker ahead (#593 vs #612 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
On the charts, Gregory leads 5 measures of 6; Gunnar 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: Gregory #895, Gunnar — — Gregory higher
- 1890s: Gregory #680, Gunnar #1035 — Gregory higher
- 1900s: Gregory #604, Gunnar #1264 — Gregory higher
- 1910s: Gregory #479, Gunnar #1533 — Gregory higher
- 1920s: Gregory #405, Gunnar #2353 — Gregory higher
- 1930s: Gregory #288, Gunnar #2403 — Gregory higher
- 1940s: Gregory #110, Gunnar #2389 — Gregory higher
- 1950s: Gregory #24, Gunnar #1945 — Gregory higher
- 1960s: Gregory #23, Gunnar #1723 — Gregory higher
- 1970s: Gregory #32, Gunnar #2074 — Gregory higher
- 1980s: Gregory #45, Gunnar #2111 — Gregory higher
- 1990s: Gregory #82, Gunnar #703 — Gregory higher
- 2000s: Gregory #196, Gunnar #556 — Gregory higher
- 2010s: Gregory #332, Gunnar #447 — Gregory higher
- 2020s: Gregory #513, Gunnar #577 — Gregory higher
Gregory stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Gregory | Gunnar |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #895 | — |
| 1890s | #680 | #1035 |
| 1900s | #604 | #1264 |
| 1910s | #479 | #1533 |
| 1920s | #405 | #2353 |
| 1930s | #288 | #2403 |
| 1940s | #110 | #2389 |
| 1950s | #24 | #1945 |
| 1960s | #23 | #1723 |
| 1970s | #32 | #2074 |
| 1980s | #45 | #2111 |
| 1990s | #82 | #703 |
| 2000s | #196 | #556 |
| 2010s | #332 | #447 |
| 2020s | #513 | #577 |
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
Gregory
watchful
The Greek verb means to be awake or alert, and the name was a Christian one from the start — a instruction rather than a description, taken from the injunction to stay awake.
Gregorios → Gregorius → Gregory
How it traveled
Gregory the Great sent Augustine and a party of monks to England at the end of the sixth century, gave them detailed and unusually practical instructions about not destroying the local temples but reusing them, and corresponded with them at length afterwards. The mission worked.
Gunnar
warrior, fighter — literally 'battle-army'
From Old Norse Gunnarr, combining gunnr 'battle, war' with the element -arr, from herr 'army, warrior'.
Gundahar (Old High German) → Gunnarr (Old Norse) → Gunnar
How it traveled
Gunnar comes from Old Norse Gunnarr, a compound of gunnr, 'battle', and an element meaning 'army' or 'warrior' — the same Germanic pair that produced Gunther further south. It belongs to the oldest layer of Norse naming and turns up in the great medieval texts: Gunnarr of Hlíðarendi is the doomed hero of Njáls saga, written in Iceland in the thirteenth century, and Gunnarr appears in the legendary poems of the Poetic Edda as the brother of Gudrún.
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
Gregory
GREG-ur-ee
Three syllables with the weight at the front. Italian and Spanish give it four with the stress on the third.
- Greg — The standard short form; used in speech far more than the full name.
- Gregg — The doubled spelling of the same short form; a standing name of its own.
- Grisha — The Russian everyday form, used in Russian-speaking families.
Gunnar
GUN-ar
Stress on the first syllable. In Norwegian and Swedish the first vowel is closer to 'goo' and the double n is held longer: GOON-nar.
- Gunn — The usual clipped form; also stands alone as a given name in Norway, where it is used for women.
- Gunny — Informal, family-level; also long-standing US military slang for a gunnery sergeant.
- Gunni — Informal short form used in Iceland and Denmark.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Gregory if you want…
- a name most people already know#593 in 2025, 493 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsGregory is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itGregory runs 3 syllables, Gunnar 2
- a long American recordGregory was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Gunnar if you want…
- a name fewer children share#612 in 2025 — gunnar will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with fewer syllablesGunnar is 2 syllables to Gregory's 3
- a newer arrivalGunnar entered the US charts in 1893
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
Gregory
Strengths
- It has a form in every European language, eastern and western alike.
- Greg is one of the most established short forms in English.
- The meaning is short, positive and easy to explain.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the twentieth century in America.
- Gregory and Gregorio will both be offered in bilingual settings.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Gunnar
Strengths
- Spelled and said the same way in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Icelandic — it crosses those borders without adjustment.
- Two syllables, phonetic spelling, one obvious stress pattern; almost no one will need it repeated.
- A documented record going back to Old Norse and the thirteenth-century Icelandic sagas, with no gap where it fell out of use.
To consider
- Gunner — the occupational word and a separate American name — sounds nearly identical, so expect that spelling to come back at you on forms, mail and rosters for life.
- The first syllable reads as 'gun' in English, and the meaning is frankly martial. Some families like that plainly; others find the firearm echo, and the nickname Gunny, more than they want.
- Outside families with Nordic ties, people may not immediately recognize it as an old name rather than a modern coinage — which is easy to correct, and the correction is a good story.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Gregory and Gunnar 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 Gregory and Gunnar?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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 these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- Generation X names (born 1965–1980)
- all guides
Where Gregory and Gunnar each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Gregory or Gunnar — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Gregory or Gunnar?
- Gregory, in 2025: Gregory ranked #593 with 493 babies; Gunnar ranked #612 with 462 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Gregory or Gunnar?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Gregory moved down 159 places; Gunnar moved down 86 places.
- Which is the older name, Gregory or Gunnar?
- Gregory was already in use when US records began in 1880; Gunnar entered the US charts in 1893. On the American record, Gregory is the older name.
- How many people are named Gregory and Gunnar?
- About 586,000 people named Gregory are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,500 people named Gunnar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Gregorys or Gunnars in the classroom?
- Gregory will almost certainly be the only one in school. Gunnar 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Gregory, Gunnar and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap