Head to head · Girls' names
Imani vs Jimena
#579 vs #578 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Jimena is a whisker ahead (#578 vs #579 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. 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, Jimena leads 3 measures of 6; Imani 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
- 1960s: Imani —, Jimena #6564 — Jimena higher
- 1970s: Imani #3095, Jimena #7995 — Imani higher
- 1980s: Imani #2256, Jimena #5835 — Imani higher
- 1990s: Imani #428, Jimena #3190 — Imani higher
- 2000s: Imani #364, Jimena #680 — Imani higher
- 2010s: Imani #478, Jimena #439 — Jimena higher
- 2020s: Imani #523, Jimena #514 — Jimena higher
Imani stood higher in 4 of 7 decades; Jimena has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Imani | Jimena |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | — | #6564 |
| 1970s | #3095 | #7995 |
| 1980s | #2256 | #5835 |
| 1990s | #428 | #3190 |
| 2000s | #364 | #680 |
| 2010s | #478 | #439 |
| 2020s | #523 | #514 |
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
Imani
faith, belief
Swahili imani, borrowed from Arabic īmān 'faith', which comes from the root ʾ-m-n — the same root behind amin and, at a distance, amen.
īmān (Arabic) → imani (Swahili) → Imani
How it traveled
The word traveled with trade and Islam down the East African coast: Arabic īmān, 'faith', entered Swahili as imani and stayed there as everyday vocabulary. Kwanzaa, created in the United States in the 1960s, took its seven principles from Swahili and gave the last of them this name — Imani, faith, celebrated on the closing day.
Jimena
Not established
Jimena is the feminine of the medieval name Ximeno, and the meaning of that name is genuinely disputed. One reading connects it to Basque seme, 'son'; another treats Ximeno as a Basque and Navarrese reshaping of Simeon, the Hebrew name usually read as 'he has heard'. Neither has won. What is not in doubt is the geography: the name belongs to medieval Navarre and Castile, where kings, bishops and noblewomen carried it in its many spellings.
Ximeno → Ximena → Jimena
How it traveled
The name begins in the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain, where Ximeno and its feminine Ximena appear repeatedly in medieval charters from Navarre, Aragón and Castile. Its most famous bearer, Jimena Díaz, was married to El Cid and appears as Doña Ximena in the Cantar de mio Cid, the great Castilian epic set down in writing around 1200.
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
Imani
ee-MAH-nee
Swahili puts the stress on the second syllable, which is how most American speakers say it too. Some say ih-MAH-nee with a lighter first vowel; both are widely heard.
- Mani — The most common informal clip, used within families and among friends.
- Immy — Informal, and shared with Imogen and Imelda; more common in English-speaking households than in Swahili-speaking ones.
- Iman — Sometimes used as a short form, though it stands fully on its own as a given name in Arabic.
- Imi — Casual written shortening, seen more in texts and notes than in speech.
Jimena
hee-MEH-nah
The Spanish J is a soft breathy h, and the stress falls on the middle syllable. English speakers who have not seen the name often try 'juh-MEE-nah' on first reading; one correction usually settles it. The Ximena spelling is pronounced identically.
- Jime — The standard informal short form in Spanish-speaking families; pronounced HEE-meh, not like the English name Jim.
- Mena — Used affectionately, and readable to English speakers who stumble over the opening J.
- Jimenita — The Spanish diminutive, used within families and mostly with young children.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Imani if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Imani from Jimena.
Choose Jimena if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Jimena from Imani.
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
Imani
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, with no silent letters or double consonants to explain.
- Carries a plain, settled meaning — faith — that a child can learn and repeat without a dictionary.
- Recognized across Swahili and, in related form, Arabic and Persian, so it travels without becoming unreadable.
To consider
- Amani, a separate Swahili name meaning peace, is close enough in sound and spelling that the two get mixed up. Expect the occasional correction, and expect Emani and Imanni to show up on forms as well.
- The name is tied to Swahili and to Kwanzaa, where it names the principle of faith. Families outside those traditions may want to be comfortable saying where it comes from, since it is the first thing people who know the word will hear.
- In American records it is a girl's name, but Iman is a man's name in Iran, so international paperwork and introductions can occasionally take the wrong turn.
Jimena
Strengths
- A documented medieval history, from Navarrese charters to the Cantar de mio Cid, and continuous use in Spanish ever since.
- Works in both Spanish and English mouths without being translated or altered — only the J needs explaining.
- Comes with ready-made short forms already in real use: Jime, Mena, Jimenita.
To consider
- Outside Spanish-speaking settings, the J will be misread as an English J for life. Most Jimenas develop a quick, unbothered way of saying it, but the correction never quite stops.
- Jimena and Ximena are the same name and both are in American use, so mail, forms and school lists will sometimes arrive with the other spelling. Worth deciding which one you want and holding to it.
- The name's American wave is recent, so nearly everyone carrying it here is young. That means no built-in generational association either way — a blank slate rather than a hand-me-down.
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 Imani and Jimena 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 Imani and Jimena?
Put both to the vote.
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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 these names appear on
Where Imani and Jimena each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Imani or Jimena — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Imani or Jimena?
- Jimena, in 2025: Jimena ranked #578 with 515 babies; Imani ranked #579 with 512 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Imani or Jimena?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Imani moved down 57 places; Jimena moved down 65 places.
- Which is the older name, Imani or Jimena?
- Imani entered the US charts in 1970; Jimena entered the US charts in 1966. On the American record, Jimena is the older name.
- How many people are named Imani and Jimena?
- About 27,500 people named Imani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,000 people named Jimena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Imanis or Jimenas in the classroom?
- Imani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Jimena 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
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