Head to head · Boys' names
Jasai vs Mario
#439 vs #438 in 2025
Mario is a whisker ahead (#438 vs #439 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mario is stepping back from its peak, Jasai is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Jasai 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, Mario leads 5 measures of 6; Jasai 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
- 1890s: Jasai —, Mario #852 — Mario higher
- 1900s: Jasai —, Mario #740 — Mario higher
- 1910s: Jasai —, Mario #295 — Mario higher
- 1920s: Jasai —, Mario #259 — Mario higher
- 1930s: Jasai —, Mario #309 — Mario higher
- 1940s: Jasai —, Mario #319 — Mario higher
- 1950s: Jasai —, Mario #221 — Mario higher
- 1960s: Jasai —, Mario #198 — Mario higher
- 1970s: Jasai —, Mario #131 — Mario higher
- 1980s: Jasai —, Mario #111 — Mario higher
- 1990s: Jasai —, Mario #142 — Mario higher
- 2000s: Jasai #6152, Mario #177 — Mario higher
- 2010s: Jasai #3768, Mario #276 — Mario higher
- 2020s: Jasai #1538, Mario #380 — Mario higher
Mario stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Jasai | Mario |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #852 |
| 1900s | — | #740 |
| 1910s | — | #295 |
| 1920s | — | #259 |
| 1930s | — | #309 |
| 1940s | — | #319 |
| 1950s | — | #221 |
| 1960s | — | #198 |
| 1970s | — | #131 |
| 1980s | — | #111 |
| 1990s | — | #142 |
| 2000s | #6152 | #177 |
| 2010s | #3768 | #276 |
| 2020s | #1538 | #380 |
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
Jasai
Not established
No established meaning. What is documented is the name itself: a boy's name in US records, formed from elements that recur widely in American naming — the Ja- opening shared with Jamal, Javon and Jaden, and an ending that echoes Isai and Isaiah. Whether any one bearer's family intended that connection is not something the record captures.
Our story of Jasai — where the record runs out
Jasai comes into the record without a paper trail, which is its own kind of fact: somebody made it, fairly recently, and other families liked it enough to make it again. Its first syllable belongs to one of the most productive families in American naming — the Ja- names that parents have been inventing and reinventing for decades — and its ending lands on the same rising vowel as Isai and Isaiah.
Mario
of the gens Maria, a Roman clan name
Mario descends from the Latin Marius, the name of a Roman clan rather than a word with a meaning. Attempts have been made to connect it to Mars, the god of war, and to an older Etruscan root, and neither can be demonstrated — Roman clan names are frequently older than the language that carried them. What Mario is not, despite the resemblance, is a masculine form of Maria. The two names arrive from different directions and only look like a pair in modern Italian.
Marius, a Roman clan name of unknown origin → Mario as the Italian and Spanish form → carried to America with Italian migration → an American peak at the start of the 1980s → a video game character takes the name worldwide
How it traveled
Nintendo's American staff were working in a rented warehouse near Seattle, and the character in their new arcade game had no name — the design documents called him Jumpman. The story their own people have told for decades is that the landlord turned up during a meeting to press them about the overdue rent, that his name was Mario Segale, and that the character was named after him half as a joke.
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
Jasai
juh-SYE
Stress falls on the second syllable. Both juh-SYE (rhyming with Isai) and juh-SAY are heard, and no single version has settled as the standard, so whichever the family chooses will need saying out loud at first meetings.
- Jay — The obvious short form, and a long-established given name in its own right for men of every generation.
- Sai — Takes the stressed half of the name; also stands alone as a given name in several unrelated traditions.
- JJ — Informal, and generally depends on a J surname or middle name to justify the second letter.
Mario
MAR-ee-oh
Three syllables with the stress at the front. Italian and Spanish speakers give the first vowel a purer sound and roll the r; the American reading is close enough that nobody is ever misunderstood.
- Rio — Takes the back half and is a complete name in its own right now.
- Mars — Playground shortening, and a nod to an etymology that cannot be proved.
- Mimmo — An Italian family form, unrelated in sound and used only at home.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Jasai if you want…
- a name on the way upup 1,702 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesJasai is 2 syllables to Mario's 3
- a name that feels very nowJasai is climbing the charts fast
Choose Mario if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMario is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMario runs 3 syllables, Jasai 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 65% for Jasai
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
Jasai
Strengths
- Jay, the natural short form, is a familiar standalone name that any teacher, coach or employer already knows how to spell.
- The Ja- opening is a pattern Americans read at a glance, so the name looks intended rather than mistyped even on first sight.
- Short and end-stressed — two syllables that carry across a playground without needing to be shouted.
To consider
- The pronunciation genuinely isn't settled — juh-SYE and juh-SAY both circulate — so your child will correct people, gently and often, for life. Choosing one and saying it clearly from the start is most of the work.
- Spelling will need to be given out letter by letter. Jasiah, Jaisai and Isai all sit close enough to catch a listener who is only half paying attention.
- There is no meaning to offer when someone asks, which comes up more than parents expect. What you can say instead is where the sound comes from, and that it was chosen rather than inherited.
Mario
Strengths
- It is recognized instantly in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese without any change of spelling.
- The sound is warm and open, and the name has never been tied to a single generation.
- It carries a Roman history, an Italian-American one and a global one, and a child can pick whichever he likes.
To consider
- The video game character is the first association for everyone under fifty, and the jokes are unavoidable in childhood.
- It is stepping back from its American peak, so it will read as slightly of its parents' generation for a while.
- The meaning cannot be given honestly, because Roman clan names generally do not have one.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Jasai
65%chance Jasai feels dated by 2040
Jasai 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.
Mario
40%chance Mario feels dated by 2040
Mario sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
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 Jasai and Mario 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 Jasai and Mario?
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 these names appear on
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- Video game names in real use
- Names ending in -io
- all guides
Where Jasai and Mario each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Jasai or Mario — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Jasai or Mario?
- Mario, in 2025: Mario ranked #438 with 721 babies; Jasai ranked #439 with 719 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Jasai or Mario?
- Jasai. Over the last five years Jasai moved up 1,702 places; Mario moved down 109 places.
- Which is the older name, Jasai or Mario?
- Jasai entered the US charts in 2002; Mario entered the US charts in 1897. On the American record, Mario is the older name.
- How many people are named Jasai and Mario?
- About 1,600 people named Jasai are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 130,000 people named Mario are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Jasais or Marios in the classroom?
- Jasai will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mario 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 Jasai, Mario and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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