Head to head · Girls' names
Laura vs Liana
#379 vs #385 in 2025
Laura is a whisker ahead (#379 vs #385 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Laura is holding its place on the charts, Liana is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Liana 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, Laura leads 5 measures of 6; Liana 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: Laura #21, Liana — — Laura higher
- 1890s: Laura #34, Liana — — Laura higher
- 1900s: Laura #48, Liana — — Laura higher
- 1910s: Laura #61, Liana — — Laura higher
- 1920s: Laura #76, Liana #4053 — Laura higher
- 1930s: Laura #98, Liana #4204 — Laura higher
- 1940s: Laura #94, Liana #2531 — Laura higher
- 1950s: Laura #44, Liana #1720 — Laura higher
- 1960s: Laura #17, Liana #1453 — Laura higher
- 1970s: Laura #19, Liana #1119 — Laura higher
- 1980s: Laura #21, Liana #933 — Laura higher
- 1990s: Laura #53, Liana #824 — Laura higher
- 2000s: Laura #148, Liana #723 — Laura higher
- 2010s: Laura #313, Liana #512 — Laura higher
- 2020s: Laura #368, Liana #434 — Laura higher
Laura stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Laura | Liana |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #21 | — |
| 1890s | #34 | — |
| 1900s | #48 | — |
| 1910s | #61 | — |
| 1920s | #76 | #4053 |
| 1930s | #98 | #4204 |
| 1940s | #94 | #2531 |
| 1950s | #44 | #1720 |
| 1960s | #17 | #1453 |
| 1970s | #19 | #1119 |
| 1980s | #21 | #933 |
| 1990s | #53 | #824 |
| 2000s | #148 | #723 |
| 2010s | #313 | #512 |
| 2020s | #368 | #434 |
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
Laura
laurel
From the Latin laurus, the evergreen tree whose leaves crowned victors and poets. The reading is settled and the name is the plain Latin word with nothing added.
laurus → Laura
How it traveled
That continuity is the unusual thing about it. Most names of its age have gone out of use for a century or two and come back changed, or have been reshaped by one language and borrowed back by another.
Liana
Either a short form of Juliana or Liliana, or the French word for a climbing vine
The most common account treats Liana as the tail end of a longer name — Iuliana/Juliana in Italian and Romanian use, or Liliana, or Eliana — in which case the meaning belongs to the parent name. The other account points to French *liane*, from *lier*, 'to bind' (Latin *ligare*), the botanical word for a woody vine that climbs a tree. Both are genuine; neither has pushed the other out.
Iulia → Iuliana → Juliana → Liana
How it traveled
The clipping route is the older and better documented one: Latin Iulia gave Iuliana, which traveled into Italian and Romanian as Iuliana and Juliana, and Liana is what remains when the first syllables fall away — the same trimming that turned Elisabetta into Betta. Liliana and Eliana lose their heads the same way and land in the same place.
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
Laura
LOR-uh
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Italian and Spanish give the first vowel more length, LAH-oo-rah, and Polish and German say it closer to the Italian.
- Laurie — The everyday form; a standing name of its own for women and men both.
- Lolly — An older affectionate form, used inside families.
- Lala — A reduplicated childhood form; used widely and rarely written.
Liana
lee-AH-nuh
Also said lee-AN-uh, with the middle syllable rhyming on 'an'. The first is the Italian and Romanian pronunciation and the more usual one in the US; the second follows the English pronunciation of the vine. Either way the stress lands on the second syllable, and the spelling gives no trouble to a first-time reader.
- Lia — The most common short form, and a standalone given name in Italy, Germany and the US.
- Ana — Takes the back half instead of the front; a full name in its own right across Spanish, Portuguese and Slavic use.
- Li — A one-syllable informal clip, used at home more than on paper.
- Nia — Pulled from the middle; also an independent name of Welsh and Swahili use.
- Also Lili.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Laura if you want…
- a name holding steadyLaura is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesLaura is 2 syllables to Liana's 3
- a long American recordLaura was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 49% for Liana
Choose Liana if you want…
- a name on the way upup 77 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itLiana runs 3 syllables, Laura 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Lia, Ana and Li
- a newer arrivalLiana 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
Laura
Strengths
- It is spelled identically in at least six European languages.
- The meaning is settled, pleasant and easy to explain to a child.
- Five letters, two syllables, and no ambiguity in the spelling.
To consider
- It is very familiar, so a child may share it with others.
- The first vowel differs noticeably between English and the Romance languages.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of boys, though it reads overwhelmingly as a girl's name.
Liana
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in English, Spanish, Italian and Romanian alike — a name that survives a plane journey without alteration.
- Comes with ready-made short forms, Lia and Ana, both of which also work as full names.
- Stands on its own as a given name in Russia, Armenia and Georgia, so it needs no longer version behind it.
To consider
- Two pronunciations are in real use, lee-AH-nuh and lee-AN-uh, so expect to correct people occasionally — a one-second fix, but a lifelong one.
- Lianna, Leanna, Leana and Liana all exist, and hearing the name aloud does not tell anyone which spelling you chose. Saying the letters will become routine.
- It is also an English noun for a jungle vine, familiar to anyone who has read about rainforests. Harmless, but the association is out there.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Laura
12%chance Laura feels dated by 2040
Laura has held the top-100 across 12 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Liana
49%chance Liana feels dated by 2040
Liana 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 Laura and Liana 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 Laura and Liana?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Midcentury modern: tomorrow's comeback bets
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- all guides
Where Laura and Liana each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Laura or Liana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Laura or Liana?
- Laura, in 2025: Laura ranked #379 with 805 babies; Liana ranked #385 with 801 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Laura or Liana?
- Liana. Over the last five years Laura moved down 23 places; Liana moved up 77 places.
- Which is the older name, Laura or Liana?
- Laura was already in use when US records began in 1880; Liana entered the US charts in 1929. On the American record, Laura is the older name.
- How many people are named Laura and Liana?
- About 617,000 people named Laura are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 20,000 people named Liana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lauras or Lianas in the classroom?
- Laura will almost certainly be the only one in school. Liana 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 Laura, Liana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap