Head to head · Girls' names
Martha vs Ryan
#712 vs #712 in 2025
Martha and Ryan share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#712). 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, Martha leads 4 measures of 6; Ryan 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: Martha #17, Ryan — — Martha higher
- 1890s: Martha #25, Ryan — — Martha higher
- 1900s: Martha #30, Ryan — — Martha higher
- 1910s: Martha #26, Ryan — — Martha higher
- 1920s: Martha #23, Ryan — — Martha higher
- 1930s: Martha #26, Ryan — — Martha higher
- 1940s: Martha #30, Ryan — — Martha higher
- 1950s: Martha #51, Ryan #5031 — Martha higher
- 1960s: Martha #102, Ryan #4632 — Martha higher
- 1970s: Martha #159, Ryan #1163 — Martha higher
- 1980s: Martha #208, Ryan #379 — Martha higher
- 1990s: Martha #296, Ryan #586 — Martha higher
- 2000s: Martha #496, Ryan #507 — Martha higher
- 2010s: Martha #748, Ryan #508 — Ryan higher
- 2020s: Martha #711, Ryan #603 — Ryan higher
Martha stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Ryan has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Martha | Ryan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #17 | — |
| 1890s | #25 | — |
| 1900s | #30 | — |
| 1910s | #26 | — |
| 1920s | #23 | — |
| 1930s | #26 | — |
| 1940s | #30 | — |
| 1950s | #51 | #5031 |
| 1960s | #102 | #4632 |
| 1970s | #159 | #1163 |
| 1980s | #208 | #379 |
| 1990s | #296 | #586 |
| 2000s | #496 | #507 |
| 2010s | #748 | #508 |
| 2020s | #711 | #603 |
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
Martha
lady, mistress of the house
Aramaic, and the feminine of the ordinary word for a lord or master. It is one of very few New Testament names that is Aramaic rather than Hebrew or Greek, which suits the character it belongs to.
marta → Martha
How it traveled
The most famous bearer of the name in modern times was a bird. She was the last passenger pigeon alive, a species that had numbered in the billions and darkened the sky over North America for days at a time within living memory, and she died in Cincinnati Zoo in the autumn of nineteen fourteen.
Ryan
From the Irish personal name Rian; most often read as "little king"
Two serious readings compete. The common one traces Rian to Old Irish rí, "king", with a diminutive ending — hence "little king" or "kingly". The other links it to Old Irish rían, "water, sea, course". Neither has been settled, and the surname Ó Riain is documented long before anyone recorded what Rian itself meant.
Rian → Ó Riain → Ryan
How it traveled
The name comes from Ireland, where Ó Riain was the surname of a family long associated with counties Carlow and Tipperary. Anglicized as Ryan, it became one of the most widespread Irish surnames, and Irish emigration carried it into the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia through the nineteenth century.
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
Martha
MAR-thuh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. Most European languages drop the h entirely and say MAR-tah, which English does not.
- Marty — An affectionate ending; unisex and rather informal.
- Mattie — Built from the front by sound; warm and of an older generation.
- Patty — An old and now obscure short form of this name rather than of Patricia.
Ryan
RYE-un
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Irish form Rian is often said closer to REE-un, but the English-speaking pronunciation is uniform and rarely needs correcting.
- Ry — The standard informal short form, used within families and among friends.
- Ry-Ry — A doubled form heard mostly with small children, and usually dropped by school age.
- Ryan — Already short enough that most bearers use the full name in every setting, formal and casual alike.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Martha if you want…
- a name on the way upup 55 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordMartha was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Ryan
Choose Ryan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRyan is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalRyan entered the US charts in 1959
- a name that feels very nowRyan 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
Martha
Strengths
- It is recognized across Europe with almost no change of spelling.
- The meaning is dignified and easy to explain without etymology.
- It has stayed in continuous use for the whole length of the record.
To consider
- Its peak was very early and the name carries that age for some ears.
- The biblical character is proverbially the busy one, which colors the name.
- The record holds a few boys as well, and the boy is much the smaller side.
Ryan
Strengths
- One spelling, one pronunciation: it is read correctly on sight across the English-speaking world, and rarely needs to be spelled out.
- Short without being clipped — it works on a passport, a jersey and a classroom name tag equally well.
- Documented as an Irish surname for centuries and in use as a first name for well over a hundred years, so it is neither invented nor tied to one decade.
To consider
- It is far more common among grown adults than among children, so a boy named Ryan today is more likely to share it with a coach or an uncle than with a classmate. Whether that reads as steady or as slightly of-the-past is a matter of taste.
- Two very well-known actors carry the name, and for now it arrives with a faint celebrity echo attached. That fades quickly in daily life, but it is there.
- In US records this spelling is overwhelmingly given to boys; the small number of girls named Ryan arrived through the sound and the surname fashion, not through a separate name. A girl called Ryan will likely be the only one she meets, and may occasionally be assumed male on paper.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Martha
12%chance Martha feels dated by 2040
Martha has held the top-100 across 8 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Ryan
40%chance Ryan feels dated by 2040
Ryan 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 Martha and Ryan 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 Martha and Ryan?
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
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Silent Generation names (born 1928–1945)
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- Downton Abbey names, upstairs and down
- all guides
Where Martha and Ryan each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Martha or Ryan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Martha or Ryan?
- They tie in 2025: Martha ranked #712 with 393 babies; Ryan ranked #712 with 393 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Martha or Ryan?
- Martha. Over the last five years Martha moved up 55 places; Ryan moved down 262 places.
- Which is the older name, Martha or Ryan?
- Martha was already in use when US records began in 1880; Ryan entered the US charts in 1959. On the American record, Martha is the older name.
- How many people are named Martha and Ryan?
- About 241,000 people named Martha are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 27,000 people named Ryan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Marthas or Ryans in the classroom?
- Martha will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ryan 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 Martha, Ryan 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