Head to head · Girls' names
Kayla vs Matilda
#364 vs #364 in 2025
Kayla and Matilda share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#364). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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
The tape is even: Kayla and Matilda each lead 2 measures of 6.
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: Kayla —, Matilda #110 — Matilda higher
- 1890s: Kayla —, Matilda #138 — Matilda higher
- 1900s: Kayla —, Matilda #178 — Matilda higher
- 1910s: Kayla —, Matilda #235 — Matilda higher
- 1920s: Kayla —, Matilda #300 — Matilda higher
- 1930s: Kayla #3524, Matilda #470 — Matilda higher
- 1940s: Kayla #2492, Matilda #690 — Matilda higher
- 1950s: Kayla #1244, Matilda #895 — Matilda higher
- 1960s: Kayla #853, Matilda #1106 — Kayla higher
- 1970s: Kayla #760, Matilda #1649 — Kayla higher
- 1980s: Kayla #172, Matilda #2757 — Kayla higher
- 1990s: Kayla #13, Matilda #2921 — Kayla higher
- 2000s: Kayla #22, Matilda #1502 — Kayla higher
- 2010s: Kayla #109, Matilda #594 — Kayla higher
- 2020s: Kayla #295, Matilda #429 — Kayla higher
Matilda stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Kayla has held the lead since the 1960s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Kayla | Matilda |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #110 |
| 1890s | — | #138 |
| 1900s | — | #178 |
| 1910s | — | #235 |
| 1920s | — | #300 |
| 1930s | #3524 | #470 |
| 1940s | #2492 | #690 |
| 1950s | #1244 | #895 |
| 1960s | #853 | #1106 |
| 1970s | #760 | #1649 |
| 1980s | #172 | #2757 |
| 1990s | #13 | #2921 |
| 2000s | #22 | #1502 |
| 2010s | #109 | #594 |
| 2020s | #295 | #429 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Kayla
Not charting outside the US.
Matilda
- England & Wales#31
- Scotland#93
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Kayla
not settled; linked to Kyle and to a Yiddish Kayla
Kayla has two serious roots. One is Kyle, from Scottish Gaelic caol, narrow or slender, with a feminine ending. The other is an older Yiddish woman's name, Kayla or Keyle. Many American families also heard it simply as Kay with -la added. None of these has been shown to be the source.
Kyle / Kayla (Yiddish) / Kay → Kayla
How it traveled
Kayla came into American use from several directions at once, and no single story explains why so many families chose it. Once it was familiar it grew a family of spellings of its own.
Matilda
mighty in battle
From the Germanic elements *maht* "might, strength" and *hild* "battle", combined in the old name Mahthildis.
Mahthildis → Mathilde → Matilda → Maud
How it traveled
The name began as Germanic Mahthildis and was borne by a tenth-century German queen later honored as a saint. It reached England in Latin form after 1066 with Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, and was carried by their granddaughter Empress Matilda, whose claim to the English crown set off the civil war of the twelfth century.
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
Kayla
KAY-luh
Two syllables with the stress on the first; the ay is the long a of day.
- Kay — The natural short form, and a name in its own right.
- Kayls — An informal short form common among friends.
Matilda
muh-TIL-duh
Stress on the middle syllable. The German and French Mathilde is closer to ma-TILL-duh or ma-TEELD, if relatives abroad reach for that version.
- Tilly — The most common short form in British and Australian use, and given independently as a full name too.
- Tillie — Older American spelling of the same short form; also stands alone as a given name.
- Mattie — Informal, long-established in American use, shared with Martha and Matthew.
- Tilda — Used on its own in Scandinavia as well as as a short form of Matilda.
- Also Maud.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Kayla if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsKayla is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesKayla is 2 syllables to Matilda's 3
- a newer arrivalKayla entered the US charts in 1933
- a name that feels very nowKayla is stepping back from its peak
Choose Matilda if you want…
- a name on the way upup 114 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMatilda runs 3 syllables, Kayla 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Tilly, Tillie and Mattie
- a name that charts abroad tooMatilda is on the national lists of England & Wales and Scotland
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
Kayla
Strengths
- It is easy to say and spell, and nearly everyone knows it.
- It sounds warm and friendly.
- It works in many languages without changing.
To consider
- It is closely tied to one generation, so a Kayla will often share her name with classmates and co-workers of her age.
- There is no settled meaning to give when someone asks; the honest answer is that it has several possible roots.
- A very few boys have been given it; for them it will read as a girl's name everywhere.
Matilda
Strengths
- An unbroken record in English since the Norman Conquest — long past the point where any fashion cycle can date it.
- Recognizable in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Scandinavian forms, so it travels without translation.
- Several established short forms already in real use — Tilly, Tillie, Mattie, Tilda — none of which need explaining.
To consider
- Roald Dahl's novel and its film and stage versions are the first thing many people will mention. It is affectionate rather than awkward, but expect it often.
- Mathilda, Mathilde and Matilde are all real spellings elsewhere, so the double-check question will come up on forms and rosters for life.
- The full name is still strongly represented among the oldest generations in the US, which is exactly what makes it read as vintage now — worth knowing if you would rather a name with no grandmotherly echo at all.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Kayla
83%chance Kayla feels dated by 2040
Kayla is coming down from a big peak (#11 in 1995). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Matilda
30%chance Matilda feels dated by 2040
Matilda 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.
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 Kayla and Matilda 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 Kayla and Matilda?
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 head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names of the '80s and '90s, currently resting
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Millennial names (born 1981–1996)
- Generation Z names (born 1997–2012)
- all guides
Where Kayla and Matilda each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Kayla or Matilda — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Kayla or Matilda?
- They tie in 2025: Kayla ranked #364 with 838 babies; Matilda ranked #364 with 838 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Kayla or Matilda?
- Matilda. Over the last five years Kayla moved down 149 places; Matilda moved up 114 places.
- Which is the older name, Kayla or Matilda?
- Kayla entered the US charts in 1933; Matilda was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Matilda is the older name.
- How many people are named Kayla and Matilda?
- About 341,000 people named Kayla are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 16,000 people named Matilda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Kaylas or Matildas in the classroom?
- Kayla will almost certainly be the only one in school. Matilda 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
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