Head to head · Girls' names
Macy vs Remy
#718 vs #718 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Macy and Remy share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#718). 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
On the charts, Macy leads 3 measures of 6; Remy leads 0.
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: Macy #892, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1890s: Macy #1077, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1900s: Macy #1163, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1910s: Macy #1414, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1920s: Macy #1639, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1930s: Macy #1916, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1940s: Macy #2662, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1950s: Macy #3306, Remy — — Macy higher
- 1960s: Macy #3945, Remy #6107 — Macy higher
- 1970s: Macy #3074, Remy #4774 — Macy higher
- 1980s: Macy #2158, Remy #3272 — Macy higher
- 1990s: Macy #402, Remy #2238 — Macy higher
- 2000s: Macy #251, Remy #2093 — Macy higher
- 2010s: Macy #426, Remy #952 — Macy higher
- 2020s: Macy #674, Remy #615 — Remy higher
Macy stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Remy took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Macy | Remy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #892 | — |
| 1890s | #1077 | — |
| 1900s | #1163 | — |
| 1910s | #1414 | — |
| 1920s | #1639 | — |
| 1930s | #1916 | — |
| 1940s | #2662 | — |
| 1950s | #3306 | — |
| 1960s | #3945 | #6107 |
| 1970s | #3074 | #4774 |
| 1980s | #2158 | #3272 |
| 1990s | #402 | #2238 |
| 2000s | #251 | #2093 |
| 2010s | #426 | #952 |
| 2020s | #674 | #615 |
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
Macy
from a French place-name, the estate of Maccius
Macy is usually traced to Massy or Macey, French place-names from the Latin personal name Maccius. Other origins for the surname have been suggested.
Maccius → Massy → Macy
How it traveled
Rowland Hussey Macy went to sea on a Nantucket whaler as a young man, and the company says the red star of its logo came from a tattoo he got then. After several failed stores he opened one in New York that grew into the largest in the world.
Remy
oarsman, rower
From Latin Remigius, built on remex, remigis — the man at the oar. The saint's fame in Gaul, not the word itself, is what carried the name forward.
Remigius → Rémi → Rémy → Remy
How it traveled
The Latin Remigius belonged most famously to the bishop of Reims who died around 533 and who baptized the Frankish king Clovis, an event that anchored the name in northern France for good. Medieval French wore it down to Rémi and Rémy, and the accent-free Remy is simply what the name looks like once English gets hold of 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
Macy
MAY-see
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
- Mace — A short form, though it is also a weapon and a spice.
Remy
REM-ee
Standard in American English, stress on the first syllable. The French Rémy is ray-MEE, with the stress at the back — worth deciding which one you want before the name is handed to a room full of relatives.
- Rem — The obvious clipped form; used informally and rarely written on anything official.
- Remmy — A doubled-consonant spelling used affectionately, mostly by family.
- Rey — Occasional, and stands on its own as a given name elsewhere.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Macy if you want…
- a name that stays wholeone recorded short form for Macy (Mace)
Choose Remy if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRemy is stepping back from its peak
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Rem, Remmy and Rey
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
Macy
Strengths
- It is bright, friendly and easy to spell.
- It is familiar without being among the most common names.
To consider
- Nearly everyone will think of the department store and its parade.
- A very few boys have been given it; for them it will read as a girl's name everywhere.
Remy
Strengths
- Two syllables, five letters, and spelled the way an English speaker hears it — no accent to lose in forms and databases.
- Works for a girl or a boy without either use looking like a mistake, since American records carry both.
- A documented line running back to late-antique Gaul, with living forms in French, Italian, Spanish and Polish.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete: the English REM-ee and the French ray-MEE. Both are correct for the name, so expect to correct people occasionally, and expect the correction to be easy.
- Rémy Martin cognac and the cooking rat in Pixar's Ratatouille are the two associations most Americans reach for first. Neither is a problem, but you will hear about them.
- The spelling splits three ways — Remy, Remi, Rémy — so the name will sometimes be written back to you in a form you didn't choose.
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 Macy and Remy 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
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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.
Macy or Remy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Macy or Remy?
- They tie in 2025: Macy ranked #718 with 390 babies; Remy ranked #718 with 390 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Macy or Remy?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Macy moved down 97 places; Remy moved down 222 places.
- Which is the older name, Macy or Remy?
- Macy entered the US charts in 1885; Remy entered the US charts in 1964. On the American record, Macy is the older name.
- How many people are named Macy and Remy?
- About 31,500 people named Macy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 8,200 people named Remy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Macys or Remys in the classroom?
- Macy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Remy 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
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