Head to head · Girls' names
Harmony vs Lilith
#276 vs #277 in 2025
Harmony is a whisker ahead (#276 vs #277 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Harmony is stepping back from its peak, Lilith is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Lilith 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, Harmony leads 4 measures of 6; Lilith 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
- 1910s: Harmony #4274, Lilith #3826 — Lilith higher
- 1920s: Harmony #4023, Lilith #3817 — Lilith higher
- 1930s: Harmony —, Lilith #3055 — Lilith higher
- 1940s: Harmony #4235, Lilith #4622 — Harmony higher
- 1950s: Harmony #5498, Lilith — — Harmony higher
- 1960s: Harmony #6162, Lilith #5745 — Lilith higher
- 1970s: Harmony #1828, Lilith #7201 — Harmony higher
- 1980s: Harmony #1077, Lilith #10668 — Harmony higher
- 1990s: Harmony #1153, Lilith #6329 — Harmony higher
- 2000s: Harmony #484, Lilith #1588 — Harmony higher
- 2010s: Harmony #195, Lilith #672 — Harmony higher
- 2020s: Harmony #226, Lilith #270 — Harmony higher
Harmony stood higher in 8 of 12 decades; Harmony has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Harmony | Lilith |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #4274 | #3826 |
| 1920s | #4023 | #3817 |
| 1930s | — | #3055 |
| 1940s | #4235 | #4622 |
| 1950s | #5498 | — |
| 1960s | #6162 | #5745 |
| 1970s | #1828 | #7201 |
| 1980s | #1077 | #10668 |
| 1990s | #1153 | #6329 |
| 2000s | #484 | #1588 |
| 2010s | #195 | #672 |
| 2020s | #226 | #270 |
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
Harmony
agreement, concord; a fitting together
From Greek harmonia, built on harmos, "joint" — originally the joining of parts, later the agreement of sounds and of people.
Harmonia (Greek) → harmonia (Latin) → harmonie (Old French) → Harmony
How it traveled
The Greek harmonia meant a joint or fastening before it meant anything musical; the word for fitting boards together became the word for fitting notes together. Latin took it as harmonia, Old French as harmonie, and English inherited both the musical term and, eventually, the name.
Lilith
linked to "night" or to "wind, air spirit"
The traditional reading ties Lilith to Hebrew *layil*, "night" — the reading behind translations like "night creature" in Isaiah 34:14. Semitic scholars more often trace it to Akkadian *lilītu*, a class of spirit, and beyond that to a Sumerian word for wind or air. Both readings are seriously held; the "night" connection may well be an ancient folk etymology that stuck.
lilītu (Akkadian) → Lilit (Hebrew) → Lilith (Greek and Latin biblical texts) → Lilith (English)
How it traveled
The oldest layer is Mesopotamian: *lilītu* and related figures appear in Akkadian and Sumerian incantations as spirits of the air, invoked to be warded off. The Hebrew *lilit* surfaces once in the Book of Isaiah, in a list of creatures inhabiting a ruined place, and again in the Babylonian Talmud.
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
Harmony
HAR-muh-nee
Stress on the first syllable, exactly as the musical word. No English speaker needs it explained.
- Harmony — Overwhelmingly used in full; the three syllables are short enough that most bearers never shorten them.
- Harmy — Informal, family-level; the most common affectionate clip.
- Mony — Informal, drawn from the second half rather than the first.
- Harm — Occasionally heard as a clipped form in English; also a standalone men's name in Dutch and Frisian, unrelated in use.
Lilith
LIL-ith
Stress on the first syllable, which rhymes with "fill." The final -th is soft, as in "with." Armenian and Hebrew speakers say Lilit, with the stress on the second syllable and no -th sound.
- Lily — The most common everyday short form; also stands alone as a given name in its own right, and much more widely used that way.
- Lil — Informal, family-and-friends level; not usually written down.
- Lili — Informal; also a standalone given name in French, German and Hungarian.
- Lilu — Affectionate, invented-at-home variety rather than an established form.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Harmony if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsHarmony is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itHarmony runs 3 syllables, Lilith 2
Choose Lilith if you want…
- a name on the way upup 39 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesLilith is 2 syllables to Harmony's 3
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
Harmony
Strengths
- Reads and pronounces itself — anyone who knows the English word knows the name at first sight, with nothing to spell out over the phone.
- One dominant spelling, so the name is unlikely to be written a second way by mistake.
- A documented line back to Greek harmonia, with recognizable cousins in French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.
To consider
- It is a word before it is a name, so it will be commented on — the pun about a household being harmonious is unavoidable, and mostly harmless.
- The first syllable is the word "harm," and children do notice that sort of thing for a while.
- There is no settled, widely used short form, which matters if you like a full name that offers a ready-made everyday alternative.
Lilith
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in English, and short enough that most people get it right on the first hearing.
- One of the longest documented records of any name on this page — Mesopotamian incantations, the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, medieval texts, nineteenth-century painting and poetry.
- Lily and Lil are ready-made short forms already in wide use, so the everyday version needs no explaining.
To consider
- The strongest association is with a demon and with Adam's rebellious first wife. Many people find that history the best part of the name; some religious relatives will find it the reason to object. Worth knowing which conversation you are walking into.
- Lily is so much more common that a Lilith who goes by Lily will often be assumed to be a Lily, and will spend some time correcting the record on paper.
- The bearers alive today are overwhelmingly young children, so for now the name reads as new to most adults even though the record behind it is ancient.
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 Harmony and Lilith 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 Harmony and Lilith?
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
- Virtue names, from Grace to Justice
- Musical names, from Aria to Lennon
- Names ending in -y
- Gothic names with candlelit edges
- all guides
Where Harmony and Lilith each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Harmony or Lilith — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Harmony or Lilith?
- Harmony, in 2025: Harmony ranked #276 with 1,123 babies; Lilith ranked #277 with 1,111 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Harmony or Lilith?
- Lilith. Over the last five years Harmony moved down 101 places; Lilith moved up 39 places.
- Which is the older name, Harmony or Lilith?
- Harmony entered the US charts in 1915; Lilith entered the US charts in 1913. On the American record, Lilith is the older name.
- How many people are named Harmony and Lilith?
- About 36,000 people named Harmony are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 13,500 people named Lilith are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Harmonys or Liliths in the classroom?
- Harmony will almost certainly be the only one in school. Lilith 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 Harmony, Lilith 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