Head to head · Boys' names
Maverick vs Miles
#49 vs #44 in 2025
Miles is a whisker ahead (#44 vs #49 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Miles is climbing the charts fast, Maverick is holding its place on the charts.
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, Miles leads 5 measures of 6; Maverick 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: Maverick —, Miles #259 — Miles higher
- 1890s: Maverick —, Miles #265 — Miles higher
- 1900s: Maverick —, Miles #324 — Miles higher
- 1910s: Maverick —, Miles #383 — Miles higher
- 1920s: Maverick —, Miles #392 — Miles higher
- 1930s: Maverick —, Miles #441 — Miles higher
- 1940s: Maverick —, Miles #453 — Miles higher
- 1950s: Maverick #1049, Miles #409 — Miles higher
- 1960s: Maverick #2443, Miles #472 — Miles higher
- 1970s: Maverick #3861, Miles #545 — Miles higher
- 1980s: Maverick #2885, Miles #370 — Miles higher
- 1990s: Maverick #999, Miles #285 — Miles higher
- 2000s: Maverick #679, Miles #212 — Miles higher
- 2010s: Maverick #230, Miles #108 — Miles higher
- 2020s: Maverick #43, Miles #49 — Maverick higher
Miles stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Maverick took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Maverick | Miles |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #259 |
| 1890s | — | #265 |
| 1900s | — | #324 |
| 1910s | — | #383 |
| 1920s | — | #392 |
| 1930s | — | #441 |
| 1940s | — | #453 |
| 1950s | #1049 | #409 |
| 1960s | #2443 | #472 |
| 1970s | #3861 | #545 |
| 1980s | #2885 | #370 |
| 1990s | #999 | #285 |
| 2000s | #679 | #212 |
| 2010s | #230 | #108 |
| 2020s | #43 | #49 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Maverick
- Canada#32
Miles
- Canada#38
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Maverick
an unbranded calf; by extension, an independent-minded person
The word is traced to Samuel A. Maverick, a nineteenth-century Texas rancher whose cattle went unbranded; unclaimed strays came to be called mavericks, and the sense of a person who refuses to run with the herd followed. What is less settled is the older history of the surname itself before it reached Texas.
Maverick (English surname) → maverick (American English word for an unbranded calf) → maverick (an independent-minded person) → Maverick (given name)
How it traveled
The path runs from surname to common noun and back to given name, which is unusual and well documented. Maverick was an English surname carried to America in the colonial period; in nineteenth-century Texas it attached to unbranded cattle, and from there to people who went their own way, a sense American political writing still uses.
Miles
Not settled — most often linked to Latin miles, 'soldier'
The soldier reading comes from the Latin word miles, which the name resembles closely; it has been repeated for centuries. Many etymologists treat that as a later association rather than the source, and point instead to a Germanic or Slavic root related to mil, 'gracious, dear', behind the Latin form Milo. Both readings are seriously held, and neither has won.
Milo → Miles → Myles
How it traveled
The written trail begins with the Latin Milo, which turns up across medieval Europe, and reaches English through Norman French as Miles after the Conquest. It stayed in steady if modest English use through the Middle Ages and the Tudor period — Miles Coverdale, who produced the first complete printed English Bible in the sixteenth century, carried 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
Maverick
MAV-uh-rik
Stress on the first syllable. Many speakers compress the middle vowel to two beats, MAV-rik, exactly as they do with the ordinary word.
- Mav — The standard short form, informal, used by family and teammates; rarely seen on paperwork.
- Rick — Taken from the second half; a long-established given name in its own right, so it reads older and more formal than Mav.
- Ricky — Informal, also a stand-alone name; more often chosen by relatives than by the child himself.
Miles
MYLZ
One syllable, rhyming with smiles. The pronunciation is the same in English-speaking countries; the Latin and Italian Milo is two syllables, MEE-loh.
- Milo — Historically the Latin form of the same name and now a very common given name in its own right; sometimes used affectionately alongside Miles within a family.
- Mile — Informal, spoken rather than written, used mostly by friends and siblings.
Who has carried each name
Maverick
No documented entry for Maverick yet.
Miles
Miles Davis (b. 1926) — Jazz's restless genius behind Kind of Blue
Miles Teller (b. 1987) — Whiplash and Top Gun: Maverick star
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Maverick if you want…
- a name holding steadyMaverick is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMaverick runs 3 syllables, Miles 1
- a newer arrivalMaverick entered the US charts in 1957
Choose Miles if you want…
- a name on the way upup 15 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMiles is 1 syllable to Maverick's 3
- a long American recordMiles 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
Maverick
Strengths
- Spelled the way the English word is spelled, so most people get it right on first hearing without being told.
- One pronunciation, first-syllable stress, and no silent letters to explain.
- A ready-made short form in Mav, plus Rick and Ricky from the second half.
To consider
- The word meaning is loud and instantly understood in English. People will hear "nonconformist" before they hear a name, and some will make a Top Gun remark.
- Its use as a given name is recent, so there are few adult Mavericks; the name will read as young for another few decades yet.
- There is no traditional formal variant to fall back on if the bearer ever wants something quieter on a résumé — the options are Maverick or a nickname.
Miles
Strengths
- One syllable, phonetically transparent, and pronounced correctly on sight by English speakers — no correction needed at a coffee counter or a roll call.
- A continuous written record from Norman England onward, which puts it outside the reach of any single decade's fashion.
- Needs no nickname to work, but has Milo available as a warmer everyday form.
To consider
- Miles and Myles are both established spellings, so expect to be asked which one, and to spell it aloud fairly often.
- It is a homophone of miles, the unit of distance. Distance and running jokes will find him at some point, usually harmlessly.
- The name is climbing steeply. A child born now is unlikely to share a classroom with another, but that may be less true by high school.
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 Maverick and Miles 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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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 Maverick and Miles — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Maverick or Miles — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Maverick or Miles?
- Miles, in 2025: Miles ranked #44 with 6,072 babies; Maverick ranked #49 with 5,894 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Maverick or Miles?
- Miles. Over the last five years Maverick moved up 1 place; Miles moved up 15 places.
- Which is the older name, Maverick or Miles?
- Maverick entered the US charts in 1957; Miles was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Miles is the older name.
- How many people are named Maverick and Miles?
- About 70,000 people named Maverick are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 112,000 people named Miles are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Mavericks or Miless in the classroom?
- Maverick will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miles will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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