Head to head · Girls' names
Lennon vs Zara
#214 vs #212 in 2025
Zara is a whisker ahead (#212 vs #214 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Zara is holding its place on the charts, Lennon is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Lennon 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, Zara leads 5 measures of 6; Lennon 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: Lennon —, Zara #1590 — Zara higher
- 1900s: Lennon —, Zara #1555 — Zara higher
- 1910s: Lennon —, Zara #2246 — Zara higher
- 1920s: Lennon —, Zara #3000 — Zara higher
- 1930s: Lennon —, Zara #3450 — Zara higher
- 1940s: Lennon —, Zara #3293 — Zara higher
- 1950s: Lennon —, Zara #4839 — Zara higher
- 1960s: Lennon —, Zara #5352 — Zara higher
- 1970s: Lennon —, Zara #3468 — Zara higher
- 1980s: Lennon #10011, Zara #2775 — Zara higher
- 1990s: Lennon #11515, Zara #2053 — Zara higher
- 2000s: Lennon #5277, Zara #1051 — Zara higher
- 2010s: Lennon #960, Zara #430 — Zara higher
- 2020s: Lennon #243, Zara #219 — Zara higher
Zara stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lennon | Zara |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #1590 |
| 1900s | — | #1555 |
| 1910s | — | #2246 |
| 1920s | — | #3000 |
| 1930s | — | #3450 |
| 1940s | — | #3293 |
| 1950s | — | #4839 |
| 1960s | — | #5352 |
| 1970s | — | #3468 |
| 1980s | #10011 | #2775 |
| 1990s | #11515 | #2053 |
| 2000s | #5277 | #1051 |
| 2010s | #960 | #430 |
| 2020s | #243 | #219 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lennon
Not charting outside the US.
Zara
- Scotland#56
- England & Wales#69
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lennon
either "lover, sweetheart" or "blackbird", depending on which Irish root you follow
Lennon anglicizes at least two distinct Irish surnames. Ó Leannáin traces to leannán, "lover, sweetheart" — also the word for a poet's or chieftain's beloved. Ó Lonáin traces to lon, "blackbird." Both lines are genuine and both produced Lennons; a given family's descent usually cannot be untangled after four centuries of anglicized spelling.
Ó Leannáin / Ó Lonáin → Leannán → Lennon
How it traveled
The name belongs first to Ireland, where Ó Leannáin and Ó Lonáin families were recorded in Fermanagh, Galway and Cork, and where clerks writing in English flattened both into Lennon. Irish emigration carried it into Britain, America, Canada and Australia, where it stayed a surname for generations.
Zara
"blossom, flowering" or "radiant" (Arabic); "dawning, rising" (Hebrew)
Two serious roads meet at this spelling. One runs from Arabic zahrah, "flower, blossom," and the related Zahra, "radiant, bright" — long established across the Arabic-speaking world, Turkey and Bosnia. The other runs from Hebrew Zerah, "dawning" or "rising," which appears as Zara in the Latin Vulgate and the English translations that followed it. A third strand treats Zara simply as a variant of Sarah, "lady, princess." None of these cancels the others out; the name genuinely carries all three histories.
Zahrah → Zahra → Zara
How it traveled
The Arabic line is the deepest and widest: Zahra and Zahrah have been given for centuries from Morocco to Indonesia, and the form Zehra is standard in Turkish and Bosnian. Separately, Latin and early English Bibles rendered the Hebrew name Zerah as Zara, which is how the spelling first became readable to European eyes.
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
Lennon
LEN-un
Stress on the first syllable. The second is usually reduced to a soft -un, though some speakers give it a clearer LEN-on. Both are heard and neither needs correcting.
- Lenny — The most common short form, informal, and long established as a stand-alone name in its own right for men.
- Len — Clipped and informal; also an old given name on its own, still found among older generations.
- Lennie — A softer spelling of the same short form, used either way.
- Nonny — A family-level nickname built from the second syllable rather than the first.
Zara
ZAR-ah
Two pronunciations circulate in the US: ZAR-ah, with the vowel of "car," and ZAIR-ah, with the vowel of "air." The first is closer to the Arabic and the usual British reading; both are accepted, so it is worth deciding which one you want and saying it clearly at introductions.
- Zaza — The most common affectionate form; informal, used within families rather than on paperwork.
- Z — A one-letter nickname among friends and siblings; also used in text and email.
- Zari — Informal extension; also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Zar — Clipped and casual, mostly heard among schoolmates.
Who has carried each name
Lennon
No documented entry for Lennon yet.
Zara
Zara Larsson (b. 1997) — Swedish pop star ("Lush Life")
Zara Tindall (b. 1981) — British royal and Olympic silver-medal equestrian
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lennon if you want…
- a name on the way upup 85 places on the charts in five years
Choose Zara if you want…
- a name holding steadyZara is holding its place on the charts
- a name that charts abroad tooZara is on the national lists of Scotland and England & Wales
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
Lennon
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to almost everyone in the English-speaking world, so it rarely needs to be repeated or spelled out.
- Established short forms are waiting — Lenny, Len, Lennie — which not every modern surname-name can offer.
- Works on a boy or a girl without alteration, and reads naturally in either case.
To consider
- The Beatles connection is unavoidable. Most people will hear it as a nod to John Lennon whether or not you intend one, and that association will follow the name through school and into adulthood.
- This spelling goes mostly to girls, so a boy named Lennon may meet the occasional assumption on a class list or a form. It is a mild friction, not a barrier, and it cuts both ways.
- The name is climbing quickly. A child born now may find it noticeably less unusual by the time they reach middle school than it is on the day they are born.
Zara
Strengths
- Short, phonetic and instantly spellable — five letters that almost no English speaker will need repeated.
- At home in Arabic, Turkish, Bosnian and English-speaking countries alike, which travels well across a mixed family.
- A documented record in English going back to the seventeenth-century stage and to Latin Bible translation, alongside centuries of Arabic use.
To consider
- Zara is also one of the world's largest clothing retailers, and most adults will think of the shop first. In practice this fades fast for the child, but expect the association to be mentioned.
- The ZAR-ah versus ZAIR-ah split means occasional correcting for life, in both directions.
- It sits close to Zahra, Zora, Zaria, Zaire and Sara, so misheard spellings on forms are likely.
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 Lennon and Zara 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 Lennon and Zara?
Put both to the vote.
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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
- Borrowed from the boys: names girls are winning
- Names with a double letter
- Musical names, from Aria to Lennon
- Boho names for free spirits
- all guides
Where Lennon and Zara each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lennon or Zara — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lennon or Zara?
- Zara, in 2025: Zara ranked #212 with 1,432 babies; Lennon ranked #214 with 1,421 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lennon or Zara?
- Lennon. Over the last five years Lennon moved up 85 places; Zara moved up 5 places.
- Which is the older name, Lennon or Zara?
- Lennon entered the US charts in 1981; Zara entered the US charts in 1896. On the American record, Zara is the older name.
- How many people are named Lennon and Zara?
- About 12,500 people named Lennon are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 20,500 people named Zara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lennons or Zaras in the classroom?
- Lennon will almost certainly be the only one in school. Zara 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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