Head to head · Girls' names
Mariana vs Meadow
#260 vs #286 in 2025
Mariana is ahead (#260 vs #286 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mariana is holding its place on the charts, Meadow is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Meadow 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, Mariana leads 5 measures of 6; Meadow 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: Mariana #1278, Meadow — — Mariana higher
- 1890s: Mariana #1406, Meadow — — Mariana higher
- 1900s: Mariana #1366, Meadow — — Mariana higher
- 1910s: Mariana #1272, Meadow #3188 — Mariana higher
- 1920s: Mariana #1224, Meadow — — Mariana higher
- 1930s: Mariana #1319, Meadow — — Mariana higher
- 1940s: Mariana #1554, Meadow — — Mariana higher
- 1950s: Mariana #1872, Meadow — — Mariana higher
- 1960s: Mariana #1645, Meadow #6617 — Mariana higher
- 1970s: Mariana #1172, Meadow #4271 — Mariana higher
- 1980s: Mariana #766, Meadow #6244 — Mariana higher
- 1990s: Mariana #439, Meadow #7454 — Mariana higher
- 2000s: Mariana #222, Meadow #872 — Mariana higher
- 2010s: Mariana #299, Meadow #753 — Mariana higher
- 2020s: Mariana #252, Meadow #390 — Mariana higher
Mariana stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mariana | Meadow |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #1278 | — |
| 1890s | #1406 | — |
| 1900s | #1366 | — |
| 1910s | #1272 | #3188 |
| 1920s | #1224 | — |
| 1930s | #1319 | — |
| 1940s | #1554 | — |
| 1950s | #1872 | — |
| 1960s | #1645 | #6617 |
| 1970s | #1172 | #4271 |
| 1980s | #766 | #6244 |
| 1990s | #439 | #7454 |
| 2000s | #222 | #872 |
| 2010s | #299 | #753 |
| 2020s | #252 | #390 |
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
Mariana
From Latin Marianus, 'of Marius'; also read as a blend of Maria and Ana
The older line is clear: Mariana is the feminine of the Roman name Marianus, formed from the family name Marius — whose own root is not established, though it has long been linked to the god Mars. Alongside that, in Spanish and Portuguese the name has been understood for centuries as Maria and Ana joined together, and both readings are genuinely in use.
Marius → Marianus → Mariana
How it traveled
The name begins as Latin, the feminine of Marianus, a name built from the Roman family name Marius. It took deep root in Spain and Portugal, where it was also heard as Maria and Ana combined, and traveled with those languages across the Atlantic — Mariana de Jesús de Paredes, the seventeenth-century Quito ascetic later canonized, is among its best-known bearers.
Meadow
A grassy field, especially one mown for hay
From Old English mǣd / mǣdwe, from the same Germanic root as the verb "mow" — the land's defining feature was that it was cut for hay rather than grazed or ploughed.
mǣd (Old English) → mǣdwe → medwe (Middle English) → Meadow
How it traveled
The word goes back to Old English mǣd, with its inflected form mǣdwe giving the shape we spell today; it belongs to the same root as "mow", so the oldest sense is land kept for cutting. Through Middle English medwe it settled into modern "meadow" and stayed an everyday word, which is why it needs no translating.
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
Mariana
mah-ree-AH-nah
That is the Spanish and Portuguese pronunciation, and the usual one in the US. English speakers also say mar-ee-AN-uh, with a flat middle vowel, which is how Tennyson's poem is read. Both are correct; it helps to offer one when introducing her.
- Mari — The most common short form in Spanish-speaking families; also stands alone as a given name.
- Nana — An affectionate household form taken from the second half of the name, informal only.
- Ana — Used where the name is heard as Maria plus Ana; a fully established given name in its own right.
- Marianita — Spanish diminutive, warm and family-level rather than formal.
- Also Mia.
Meadow
MED-oh
Said exactly like the ordinary English word, stress on the first syllable. The "ea" is short, as in "bread", not long as in "bead".
- Mead — The obvious clipping; also an English surname and the word for honey wine, so it reads as a nickname rather than a name on its own.
- Meadie — Affectionate, family-level use rather than anything official.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mariana if you want…
- a name most people already know#260 in 2025, 1,192 babies that year
- a name holding steadyMariana is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMariana runs 4 syllables, Meadow 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Mari, Nana and Ana
Choose Meadow if you want…
- a name fewer children share#286 in 2025 — meadow will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 190 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMeadow is 2 syllables to Mariana's 4
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
Mariana
Strengths
- Spelled the same way in Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, so it crosses languages and borders without adjustment.
- Instantly readable to English speakers even when they haven't met it — the letters do exactly what they look like.
- Several long-established short forms, from Mari to Ana, so she can choose how formal to be.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate, the Spanish mah-ree-AH-nah and the anglicized mar-ee-AN-uh. Neither is wrong, but she may spend her life gently correcting whichever one she doesn't use.
- It sits close to Marianna, Marianne, Maryana and Mariah, and people who hear it will sometimes write one of those instead. The spelling itself is simple; the neighbors are the problem.
- The Mariana Trench and the Mariana Islands share the name, so it turns up in geography lessons — a mild, mostly harmless association, and one that at least makes it memorable.
Meadow
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation are settled by the dictionary — almost every English speaker can write it correctly after hearing it once.
- An ordinary English word with a documented line back to Old English, so the meaning is plain and uncontested.
- On American records for over a century, which puts it well ahead of most landscape names in longevity.
To consider
- For many adults the name still points straight to Meadow Soprano in The Sopranos. That association is fading with time, but it is the first thing some people will mention.
- It is rising fast. A child named Meadow now will very likely be the only one in her class, but the name may be considerably more familiar by the time she finishes school.
- There is no traditional short form and no formal-sounding variant, so Meadow is what she will be called in every setting, from the playground to a résumé.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Mariana
40%chance Mariana feels dated by 2040
Mariana 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.
Meadow
55%chance Meadow feels dated by 2040
Meadow 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 Mariana and Meadow 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 Mariana and Meadow?
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 steadiest names in America
- Four-syllable names that carry
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Portuguese names in the American record
- all guides
Where Mariana and Meadow each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mariana or Meadow — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mariana or Meadow?
- Mariana, in 2025: Mariana ranked #260 with 1,192 babies; Meadow ranked #286 with 1,078 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mariana or Meadow?
- Meadow. Over the last five years Mariana moved up 12 places; Meadow moved up 190 places.
- Which is the older name, Mariana or Meadow?
- Mariana entered the US charts in 1888; Meadow entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Mariana is the older name.
- How many people are named Mariana and Meadow?
- About 44,000 people named Mariana are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 12,000 people named Meadow are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Marianas or Meadows in the classroom?
- Mariana will almost certainly be the only one in school. Meadow 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 Mariana, Meadow 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