Head to head · Boys' names
Mauricio vs Memphis
#663 vs #639 in 2025
Memphis is a whisker ahead (#639 vs #663 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Memphis is stepping back from its peak, Mauricio is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Mauricio 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, Mauricio leads 3 measures of 6; Memphis leads 2.
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: Mauricio #984, Memphis — — Mauricio higher
- 1910s: Mauricio #2775, Memphis #3011 — Mauricio higher
- 1920s: Mauricio #2432, Memphis #3607 — Mauricio higher
- 1930s: Mauricio #2275, Memphis #3453 — Mauricio higher
- 1940s: Mauricio #1992, Memphis #3255 — Mauricio higher
- 1950s: Mauricio #1644, Memphis — — Mauricio higher
- 1960s: Mauricio #950, Memphis — — Mauricio higher
- 1970s: Mauricio #707, Memphis — — Mauricio higher
- 1980s: Mauricio #621, Memphis — — Mauricio higher
- 1990s: Mauricio #505, Memphis #9265 — Mauricio higher
- 2000s: Mauricio #375, Memphis #1409 — Mauricio higher
- 2010s: Mauricio #533, Memphis #612 — Mauricio higher
- 2020s: Mauricio #658, Memphis #502 — Memphis higher
Mauricio stood higher in 12 of 13 decades; Memphis took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mauricio | Memphis |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #984 | — |
| 1910s | #2775 | #3011 |
| 1920s | #2432 | #3607 |
| 1930s | #2275 | #3453 |
| 1940s | #1992 | #3255 |
| 1950s | #1644 | — |
| 1960s | #950 | — |
| 1970s | #707 | — |
| 1980s | #621 | — |
| 1990s | #505 | #9265 |
| 2000s | #375 | #1409 |
| 2010s | #533 | #612 |
| 2020s | #658 | #502 |
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
Mauricio
Moorish, from Mauretania
The root is the Latin cognomen Maurus, used of someone from Mauretania in northwest Africa; it came to be read as 'dark-skinned'. The extended form Mauritius gave Maurice, Maurizio and Mauricio.
Maurus → Mauritius → Maurice → Mauricio
How it traveled
The Latin name Mauritius grew out of Maurus, a Roman byname marking someone as a Moor, from Mauretania in northwest Africa. It spread through Christian Europe with Saint Maurice, the Roman officer venerated as leader of the Theban Legion, whose shrine in the Swiss Alps gave the town of Saint-Maurice its name and whose cult made him a patron of soldiers across the medieval West.
Memphis
Enduring and beautiful
Memphis is the Greek rendering of Egyptian Men-nefer, "enduring and beautiful" — originally the name of the pyramid town of the pharaoh Pepi I, which came to stand for the whole city. The older Egyptian name for the city itself was Inebu-hedj, "white walls."
Men-nefer → Memphis (Greek) → Memphis, Tennessee → Memphis (given name)
How it traveled
The first Memphis stood at the head of the Nile delta and served as a capital of ancient Egypt; Greek writers turned its Egyptian name Men-nefer into Memphis, and that is the form the West inherited. In 1819 the founders of a new settlement on a bluff above the Mississippi took the name deliberately, matching one great river city to another.
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
Mauricio
mow-REE-see-oh
Four syllables, stress on the second. In Spanish the first syllable rhymes with 'now' and the c is a clean s; English speakers often shift it toward 'maw-REE-see-oh', which most bearers accept without fuss.
- Mau — The usual affectionate clip in Spanish-speaking families; informal, rarely written on documents.
- Mauri — Common short form in Spanish and Portuguese, used among friends and by older relatives alike.
- Mauro — Sometimes used as a short form, though it is also a full given name in its own right, straight from the same Latin root Maurus.
- Moe — Turns up in English-speaking settings, shared with Maurice and Moses; informal only.
Memphis
MEM-fis
Stress on the first syllable. One pronunciation only, and almost no American will need to be told it.
- Mem — The most natural clipping, used informally at home; not established as a standalone given name.
- Memphy — An affectionate family form, mostly used with small children.
- Phis — Occasionally used among friends; rare, and needs explaining the first time.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mauricio if you want…
- a name fewer children share#663 in 2025 — mauricio will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with more sound in itMauricio runs 4 syllables, Memphis 2
Choose Memphis if you want…
- a name most people already know#639 in 2025, 437 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsMemphis is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesMemphis is 2 syllables to Mauricio'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
Mauricio
Strengths
- Recognized on sight across Spanish, Portuguese and Italian-speaking countries, and instantly linkable to Maurice for English speakers.
- One spelling dominates in Spanish, so it is written the same way in Mexico City, Madrid and Miami.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Mau, Mauri — that families have used for generations.
To consider
- In English-only settings the first syllable often gets flattened to 'maw', and some people will reach for Maurice or Morris instead. Most bearers end up deciding early which correction is worth making.
- Four syllables is a lot next to a short surname, and the -cio ending gets misspelled as -tio or -sio by people hearing it for the first time.
- The Portuguese spelling carries an accent, Maurício, which US forms and databases tend to drop.
Memphis
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to nearly everyone in the country, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- One settled pronunciation, learned on sight, with no regional variation to negotiate.
- Given to both boys and girls in the US records — the same place name traveling two ways, not two different names.
To consider
- The association with Tennessee is immediate and total. Expect the question "Is your family from there?" for life, and expect the music — Elvis, Stax, blues — to come up too. Some families love that; it is worth knowing it comes with the name.
- Short forms are not fixed. Mem and Memphy exist but none has settled into common use, so a child who wants a shorter everyday name may have to invent one.
- Most Memphises on record are boys. A girl with the name will sometimes be read as male on paper — forms, rosters, first emails — which is easily corrected but happens more than once.
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 Mauricio and Memphis 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 Mauricio and Memphis?
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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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Mauricio and Memphis — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mauricio or Memphis — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mauricio or Memphis?
- Memphis, in 2025: Memphis ranked #639 with 437 babies; Mauricio ranked #663 with 413 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mauricio or Memphis?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Mauricio moved down 32 places; Memphis moved down 184 places.
- Which is the older name, Mauricio or Memphis?
- Mauricio entered the US charts in 1885; Memphis entered the US charts in 1916. On the American record, Mauricio is the older name.
- How many people are named Mauricio and Memphis?
- About 23,000 people named Mauricio are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 10,000 people named Memphis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Mauricios or Memphiss in the classroom?
- Mauricio will almost certainly be the only one in school. Memphis 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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