Head to head · Boys' names
Lewis vs Travis
#433 vs #434 in 2025
Lewis is a whisker ahead (#433 vs #434 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lewis is holding its place on the charts, Travis is stepping back from its peak.
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, Lewis leads 4 measures of 6; Travis 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: Lewis #41, Travis #657 — Lewis higher
- 1890s: Lewis #56, Travis #695 — Lewis higher
- 1900s: Lewis #62, Travis #565 — Lewis higher
- 1910s: Lewis #70, Travis #420 — Lewis higher
- 1920s: Lewis #78, Travis #378 — Lewis higher
- 1930s: Lewis #97, Travis #308 — Lewis higher
- 1940s: Lewis #118, Travis #330 — Lewis higher
- 1950s: Lewis #160, Travis #368 — Lewis higher
- 1960s: Lewis #218, Travis #228 — Lewis higher
- 1970s: Lewis #271, Travis #52 — Travis higher
- 1980s: Lewis #337, Travis #42 — Travis higher
- 1990s: Lewis #477, Travis #66 — Travis higher
- 2000s: Lewis #640, Travis #158 — Travis higher
- 2010s: Lewis #593, Travis #254 — Travis higher
- 2020s: Lewis #468, Travis #379 — Travis higher
Lewis stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Travis has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lewis | Travis |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #41 | #657 |
| 1890s | #56 | #695 |
| 1900s | #62 | #565 |
| 1910s | #70 | #420 |
| 1920s | #78 | #378 |
| 1930s | #97 | #308 |
| 1940s | #118 | #330 |
| 1950s | #160 | #368 |
| 1960s | #218 | #228 |
| 1970s | #271 | #52 |
| 1980s | #337 | #42 |
| 1990s | #477 | #66 |
| 2000s | #640 | #158 |
| 2010s | #593 | #254 |
| 2020s | #468 | #379 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lewis
- Scotland#22
Travis
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lewis
Famous warrior
The name descends from a Germanic compound about fame and battle, by way of the French royal name. The Scottish island called Lewis is a completely separate word from a different language and has no connection to the personal name.
Hludwig → Louis → Lewis
How it traveled
Two things carry the name and neither is a person. The Lewis chessmen were found on a beach in the Hebrides in the eighteen-thirties — ninety-odd pieces of carved walrus ivory, probably made in Norway, with expressions on the faces that have made them the most recognizable medieval objects in Britain: queens with their hands to their cheeks, bishops looking tired, berserkers biting their shields.
Travis
from a crossing or a toll
An occupational surname from Norman French, describing a man stationed at a river crossing or a barrier. The word behind it is the same one that gives English traverse.
traverse → Travers → Travis
How it traveled
The most repeated story about him should be treated carefully. Every Texan schoolchild learns that he drew a line in the sand with his sword and asked the men who would stay to step across it.
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
Lewis
LOO-iss
Two syllables, stress at the front. The English form sounds its final s; the French one does not.
- Lew — The front clipped, plain and durable.
- Lou — The same sound from the French spelling, unisex in American use.
Travis
TRAV-iss
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The spelling gives no trouble and the name is never mispronounced.
- Trav — The front alone; brisk, informal and by far the commonest short form.
- Vis — The back used alone; unusual and rarely heard outside families.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lewis if you want…
- a name on the way upup 64 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooLewis is on the national lists of Scotland
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Travis
Choose Travis if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsTravis is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowTravis is stepping back from its peak
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
Lewis
Strengths
- The meaning is settled and the name is understood across Europe.
- It works equally as a first name and a surname, which few names do.
- It has short forms that are warm without being childish.
To consider
- Louis is the commoner spelling in many countries and the two are said differently.
- The spelling is recorded for both sexes, though the boys hold nearly all of it.
- It is a very common surname, which occasionally confuses a form.
Travis
Strengths
- The spelling and the sound agree completely with nothing to explain.
- Trav is a short form that sounds entirely current.
- It carries a specific and identifiable history rather than a vague one.
To consider
- Its peak generation is recent enough to date the name to a decade.
- The historical association is regional and very strong in one state.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is much the smaller side.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Lewis
12%chance Lewis feels dated by 2040
Lewis has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Travis
40%chance Travis feels dated by 2040
Travis 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 Lewis and Travis in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Lewis and Travis?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Lewis and Travis — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lewis or Travis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lewis or Travis?
- Lewis, in 2025: Lewis ranked #433 with 736 babies; Travis ranked #434 with 732 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lewis or Travis?
- Lewis. Over the last five years Lewis moved up 64 places; Travis moved down 97 places.
- Which is the older name, Lewis or Travis?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Lewis and Travis?
- About 65,000 people named Lewis are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 283,000 people named Travis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lewiss or Traviss in the classroom?
- Lewis will almost certainly be the only one in school. Travis 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
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