Head to head · Girls' names
Hattie vs Mira
#334 vs #335 in 2025
Hattie is a whisker ahead (#334 vs #335 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Hattie is back after a long quiet spell, Mira is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Mira 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, Hattie leads 5 measures of 6; Mira 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, Mira #1190 — Hattie higher
- 1890s: Hattie #45, Mira #1166 — Hattie higher
- 1900s: Hattie #64, Mira #1400 — Hattie higher
- 1910s: Hattie #103, Mira #2619 — Hattie higher
- 1920s: Hattie #149, Mira #3187 — Hattie higher
- 1930s: Hattie #182, Mira #2824 — Hattie higher
- 1940s: Hattie #248, Mira #2403 — Hattie higher
- 1950s: Hattie #435, Mira #1798 — Hattie higher
- 1960s: Hattie #802, Mira #2074 — Hattie higher
- 1970s: Hattie #1411, Mira #2216 — Hattie higher
- 1980s: Hattie #1797, Mira #2341 — Hattie higher
- 1990s: Hattie #1878, Mira #1974 — Hattie higher
- 2000s: Hattie #1598, Mira #960 — Mira higher
- 2010s: Hattie #671, Mira #607 — Mira higher
- 2020s: Hattie #399, Mira #428 — Hattie higher
Hattie stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Hattie took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Hattie | Mira |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #32 | #1190 |
| 1890s | #45 | #1166 |
| 1900s | #64 | #1400 |
| 1910s | #103 | #2619 |
| 1920s | #149 | #3187 |
| 1930s | #182 | #2824 |
| 1940s | #248 | #2403 |
| 1950s | #435 | #1798 |
| 1960s | #802 | #2074 |
| 1970s | #1411 | #2216 |
| 1980s | #1797 | #2341 |
| 1990s | #1878 | #1974 |
| 2000s | #1598 | #960 |
| 2010s | #671 | #607 |
| 2020s | #399 | #428 |
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
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.
Mira
'Wonderful' in Latin; 'peace' or 'world' in Slavic; also a Sanskrit name
Several separate names have arrived at this spelling. The Latin root is mirus, 'wonderful, astonishing' — the source of the star name Mira. In Slavic languages Mira comes from mir, 'peace' or 'world', and works as a short form of Miroslava and Mirjana. In India, Mīrā (also written Meera) is a Sanskrit name most associated with the poet Mirabai. In Albanian it connects to mirë, 'good'. None of these cancels the others out.
How it traveled
There is no single road into this name. In the Slavic-speaking world Mira has served for generations as both a full name and the everyday form of Miroslava, Mirjana and Vladimira, built on mir, 'peace'.
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.
Mira
MEER-ah
MEER-ah is the most common American reading. Some families say MY-rah, on the pattern of Myra, and Slavic speakers use a shorter first vowel, closer to MIH-rah. All three are legitimate; it helps to pick one early and say it first when introducing her.
- Mimi — The usual affectionate form in English-speaking families; also stands alone as a given name.
- Mira — Works the other way round too — Mira is itself the established short form of Miriam, Mirabel, Amira and Miroslava, and many bearers of those names answer to it.
- Mirka — A Czech, Slovak and Polish diminutive, informal and used mainly within families.
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 long American recordHattie was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 53% for Mira
Choose Mira if you want…
- a name on the way upup 148 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalMira entered the US charts in 1887
- a name that feels very nowMira is climbing the charts fast
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.
Mira
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and already familiar in Slavic, South Asian, Hebrew, Arabic and Romance-speaking families — it crosses borders without needing to be respelled.
- Two syllables and five letters: easy to write early, and no nickname is required for it to work.
- Comes with a ready-made affectionate form in Mimi, and doubles as the short form of Miriam, Amira and Mirabel if a longer legal name appeals.
To consider
- The MEER-ah / MY-rah split is real, and she will be asked which one she is. Neither is wrong, which is exactly why the question keeps coming up.
- It sits in a crowded sound-field with Mila, Maya, Mia, Myra and Nora — expect occasional mishearing and the wrong name called across a playground.
- In Spanish, mira is the everyday imperative 'look', so in Spanish-speaking settings the name doubles as a common word. Familiar rather than odd, but worth knowing.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Hattie
30%chance Hattie feels dated by 2040
Hattie is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Mira
53%chance Mira feels dated by 2040
Mira is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
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 Hattie and Mira 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 Mira?
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 Mira — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Hattie or Mira — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Hattie or Mira?
- Hattie, in 2025: Hattie ranked #334 with 923 babies; Mira ranked #335 with 916 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Hattie or Mira?
- Mira. Over the last five years Hattie moved up 87 places; Mira moved up 148 places.
- Which is the older name, Hattie or Mira?
- Hattie was already in use when US records began in 1880; Mira entered the US charts in 1887. On the American record, Hattie is the older name.
- How many people are named Hattie and Mira?
- About 26,500 people named Hattie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 14,500 people named Mira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Hatties or Miras in the classroom?
- Hattie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mira 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 Hattie, Mira and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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