Head to head · Girls' names
Hattie vs Heidi
#334 vs #340 in 2025
Hattie is a whisker ahead (#334 vs #340 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Hattie is back after a long quiet spell, Heidi is holding its place on the charts.
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, Hattie leads 5 measures of 6; Heidi 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
- 1880s: Hattie #32, Heidi — — Hattie higher
- 1890s: Hattie #45, Heidi — — Hattie higher
- 1900s: Hattie #64, Heidi — — Hattie higher
- 1910s: Hattie #103, Heidi — — Hattie higher
- 1920s: Hattie #149, Heidi #3394 — Hattie higher
- 1930s: Hattie #182, Heidi #2244 — Hattie higher
- 1940s: Hattie #248, Heidi #790 — Hattie higher
- 1950s: Hattie #435, Heidi #309 — Heidi higher
- 1960s: Hattie #802, Heidi #121 — Heidi higher
- 1970s: Hattie #1411, Heidi #73 — Heidi higher
- 1980s: Hattie #1797, Heidi #119 — Heidi higher
- 1990s: Hattie #1878, Heidi #274 — Heidi higher
- 2000s: Hattie #1598, Heidi #319 — Heidi higher
- 2010s: Hattie #671, Heidi #347 — Heidi higher
- 2020s: Hattie #399, Heidi #364 — Heidi higher
Heidi stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Heidi has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Hattie | Heidi |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #32 | — |
| 1890s | #45 | — |
| 1900s | #64 | — |
| 1910s | #103 | — |
| 1920s | #149 | #3394 |
| 1930s | #182 | #2244 |
| 1940s | #248 | #790 |
| 1950s | #435 | #309 |
| 1960s | #802 | #121 |
| 1970s | #1411 | #73 |
| 1980s | #1797 | #119 |
| 1990s | #1878 | #274 |
| 2000s | #1598 | #319 |
| 2010s | #671 | #347 |
| 2020s | #399 | #364 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Hattie
Not charting outside the US.
Heidi
- Scotland#91
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Hattie
Home ruler
Hattie is a pet form of Harriet, the English version of French Henriette, feminine of Henri — from the Germanic elements heim, 'home,' and ric, 'ruler.'
Heimirich → Henri → Henriette → Harriet → Hattie
How it traveled
The root is Germanic: Heimirich, 'home ruler,' which traveled into France as Henri and gave the feminine Henriette. English speakers reshaped Henriette into Harriet in the seventeenth century, and Harriet, like most well-used names, promptly acquired nicknames — Hatty and Hattie among them, formed by the same sound-swap that produced Hal from Harry.
Heidi
noble kind, noble sort
Heidi is a pet form of the Germanic Adelheid, from adal 'noble' and heit 'kind, sort, being'. The same root gives Adelaide.
Adalheidis → Adelheid → Heidi
How it traveled
The name begins as Adalheidis in Old High German, a compound of 'noble' and 'kind', and became Adelheid across the German-speaking lands. In Switzerland and southern Germany it was clipped, as long names are, to Heidi.
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
Hattie
HAT-ee
Stress on the first syllable. In most American speech the middle t softens to a d-like tap, so it lands close to HAD-ee — that is normal, not a mispronunciation.
- Hat — The obvious clipping, used inside families rather than formally.
- Hetty — An older sister-nickname from the same Harriet–Henrietta family; also stands alone as a given name.
- Etta — Reached from the longer Henrietta rather than from Hattie itself; independently used as a full name.
Heidi
HY-dee
The German 'ei' says 'eye', so the first syllable rhymes with 'high'. English and German say it the same way, which is why the spelling never had to change.
- Heidi — Already the short form of Adelheid, and used as a complete given name in English, German and Scandinavian records alike.
- Heids — Informal, spoken rather than written; friends and family use rather than anything official.
- Didi — A casual reshaping heard within families; does not stand alone as a given name in English.
- Adelheid — The formal long form in German-speaking countries, if a longer version is wanted on paper.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Hattie if you want…
- a name on the way upup 87 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordHattie was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Heidi if you want…
- a name holding steadyHeidi is holding its place on the charts
- a name that charts abroad tooHeidi is on the national lists of Scotland
- a newer arrivalHeidi entered the US charts in 1929
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
Hattie
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, and short enough that a child can write it early; almost no one asks for it to be repeated.
- Comes with a ready-made formal option: parents who want a longer name on the certificate can use Harriet and call her Hattie.
- Sits in a documented line running back through Harriet and Henriette to Germanic Heimirich — a long, unbroken record.
To consider
- It is strongly represented among the oldest generations, so some people will hear it as a name from far back rather than a new one. That is precisely the appeal for many parents, but expect the occasional "that was my great-aunt's name."
- People will often assume it is short for Harriet and ask, or quietly write Harriet down. Worth deciding in advance which name you want on official forms.
- The sound sits in a very busy neighborhood — Sadie, Maisie, Millie, Hazel — so while the spelling is uncommon, the rhythm will feel familiar to anyone in a playground.
Heidi
Strengths
- Spelled and said the same way in English and German — no adjustment needed when it crosses borders.
- Two syllables, phonetic in English, and almost never misheard once said aloud.
- Has a formal long form available, Adelheid or Adelaide, for anyone who wants one on a document.
To consider
- The Spyri novel is inseparable from the name. Expect Alps, goats and grandfathers to come up — affectionately, but often, and for life.
- It is a diminutive by origin, so there is no built-in longer version unless you register Adelheid or Adelaide and treat Heidi as the everyday name.
- Variant spellings like Heidy and Heidee exist, so the occasional form will come back needing correction — a small, repeated nuisance rather than a real problem.
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 Hattie and Heidi 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 Hattie and Heidi?
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 Hattie and Heidi — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Hattie or Heidi — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Hattie or Heidi?
- Hattie, in 2025: Hattie ranked #334 with 923 babies; Heidi ranked #340 with 894 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Hattie or Heidi?
- Hattie. Over the last five years Hattie moved up 87 places; Heidi moved up 41 places.
- Which is the older name, Hattie or Heidi?
- Hattie was already in use when US records began in 1880; Heidi entered the US charts in 1929. On the American record, Hattie is the older name.
- How many people are named Hattie and Heidi?
- About 26,500 people named Hattie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 141,000 people named Heidi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Hatties or Heidis in the classroom?
- Hattie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Heidi 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 Hattie, Heidi and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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