Head to head · Girls' names
Maisy vs Monica
#745 vs #736 in 2025
Monica is a whisker ahead (#736 vs #745 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Monica is holding its place on the charts, Maisy is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Maisy 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, Monica leads 5 measures of 6; Maisy 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: Maisy —, Monica #718 — Monica higher
- 1890s: Maisy —, Monica #559 — Monica higher
- 1900s: Maisy —, Monica #483 — Monica higher
- 1910s: Maisy —, Monica #427 — Monica higher
- 1920s: Maisy —, Monica #481 — Monica higher
- 1930s: Maisy —, Monica #424 — Monica higher
- 1940s: Maisy —, Monica #357 — Monica higher
- 1950s: Maisy —, Monica #183 — Monica higher
- 1960s: Maisy —, Monica #94 — Monica higher
- 1970s: Maisy —, Monica #45 — Monica higher
- 1980s: Maisy —, Monica #58 — Monica higher
- 1990s: Maisy #8137, Monica #92 — Monica higher
- 2000s: Maisy #2528, Monica #239 — Monica higher
- 2010s: Maisy #1514, Monica #525 — Monica higher
- 2020s: Maisy #912, Monica #721 — Monica higher
Monica stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maisy | Monica |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #718 |
| 1890s | — | #559 |
| 1900s | — | #483 |
| 1910s | — | #427 |
| 1920s | — | #481 |
| 1930s | — | #424 |
| 1940s | — | #357 |
| 1950s | — | #183 |
| 1960s | — | #94 |
| 1970s | — | #45 |
| 1980s | — | #58 |
| 1990s | #8137 | #92 |
| 2000s | #2528 | #239 |
| 2010s | #1514 | #525 |
| 2020s | #912 | #721 |
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
Maisy
pearl
Maisy carries the meaning of Margaret, from Greek margarites, "pearl". The route runs through Mairead, the Gaelic form of Margaret, which gave Scotland the pet forms Maisie and Mysie.
Margarites → Margaret → Mairead → Maisie → Maisy
How it traveled
Margaret arrived in Scotland with the medieval church and became Mairead in Gaelic, and Mairead in everyday Scots speech wore down to Maisie and Mysie. Those short forms broke free and were used as full names, which is how Henry James could title a novel with one in 1897.
Monica
Not established
The traditional derivations are from a Greek word for alone or a Latin one for advising, and neither is convincing. There was a Numidian deity called Mon whose name appears in inscriptions near her home town, and the connection has been proposed seriously. Berber is poorly attested for the period, so the honest answer is that the name comes from a place we can locate and a language we cannot read enough of.
a name from Roman North Africa with no Latin explanation → Augustine's mother carries it in the fourth century → the Confessions preserve her in detail → the name spreads through the western church → an American peak in the late 1970s
How it traveled
She is documented in unusual detail because her son wrote about her. The Confessions describe a woman who followed him from Africa to Rome and then to Milan, argued with him for years about his beliefs, wept at him, prayed at him, and was still going when he finally gave in — and who then died at Ostia waiting for the boat home.
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
Maisy
MAY-zee
Stress on the first syllable; the s sounds like a z, as in Daisy. There is only one accepted way to say it, which spares a lifetime of corrections on that front.
- Mae — The most natural clipping, and a long-established given name on its own.
- Maise — Informal, mostly spoken rather than written.
- Maze — Playground-level informal, used by friends more than family.
Monica
MON-ih-kuh
Three syllables with the stress at the front in English. Spanish and Italian keep the same stress and give the vowels a purer sound.
- Mona — The front, a complete name in its own right and rather older.
- Nica — The back of the name; short, current and unusual.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Maisy if you want…
- a name on the way upup 386 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMaisy is 2 syllables to Monica's 3
- a newer arrivalMaisy entered the US charts in 1991
Choose Monica if you want…
- a name holding steadyMonica is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMonica runs 3 syllables, Maisy 2
- a long American recordMonica was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Maisy
Strengths
- Instantly sayable in English: two syllables, a familiar rhyme in Daisy, and no pronunciation ambiguity to correct.
- Sits at the end of a long documented line — Margaret to Mairead to Maisie — so it has formal ancestry without sounding formal.
- Related forms exist across most of Europe: Marguerite, Margarita, Greta, Mairead.
To consider
- Maisie is the older and more widely known spelling, so expect to say "with a y" fairly often, and to see it written the other way by people acting in good faith.
- It shares its shape with Macy, Maci and Daisy, all in use at once. Some mishearing comes with the territory.
- Maisy is a pet form by origin, with no longer version behind it unless you register Margaret and use Maisy at home. Some parents like that flexibility; others prefer the short name to be the real one.
Monica
Strengths
- It works without alteration across most of Europe and Latin America.
- Mona and Nica are both available and belong to different centuries.
- It has a genuinely well-documented namesake, which most early saints do not.
To consider
- There is no established meaning, and the ones in name books are guesses.
- It is closely dated to the 1970s and 1980s in American use.
- A televised scandal of the 1990s attached itself to the name for a decade.
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 Maisy and Monica 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 Maisy and Monica?
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 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
- Generation X names (born 1965–1980)
- Superhero names, secret identities included
- Names that belong entirely to the 1970s
- all guides
Where Maisy and Monica each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maisy or Monica — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maisy or Monica?
- Monica, in 2025: Monica ranked #736 with 371 babies; Maisy ranked #745 with 365 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maisy or Monica?
- Maisy. Over the last five years Maisy moved up 386 places; Monica moved down 40 places.
- Which is the older name, Maisy or Monica?
- Maisy entered the US charts in 1991; Monica was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Monica is the older name.
- How many people are named Maisy and Monica?
- About 4,200 people named Maisy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 231,000 people named Monica are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Maisys or Monicas in the classroom?
- Maisy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Monica 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
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