Head to head · Girls' names
Mckenna vs Murphy
#410 vs #397 in 2025
Murphy is a whisker ahead (#397 vs #410 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Murphy is climbing the charts fast, Mckenna is stepping back from its peak.
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, Murphy leads 4 measures of 6; Mckenna 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
- 1890s: Mckenna —, Murphy #1700 — Murphy higher
- 1900s: Mckenna —, Murphy #1792 — Murphy higher
- 1910s: Mckenna —, Murphy #3725 — Murphy higher
- 1920s: Mckenna —, Murphy #3379 — Murphy higher
- 1930s: Mckenna —, Murphy #4082 — Murphy higher
- 1940s: Mckenna —, Murphy #4691 — Murphy higher
- 1970s: Mckenna #8367, Murphy — — Mckenna higher
- 1980s: Mckenna #2145, Murphy #6651 — Mckenna higher
- 1990s: Mckenna #482, Murphy #3490 — Mckenna higher
- 2000s: Mckenna #205, Murphy #4980 — Mckenna higher
- 2010s: Mckenna #244, Murphy #3169 — Mckenna higher
- 2020s: Mckenna #334, Murphy #625 — Mckenna higher
The decades split evenly, 6 each; Mckenna has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mckenna | Murphy |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #1700 |
| 1900s | — | #1792 |
| 1910s | — | #3725 |
| 1920s | — | #3379 |
| 1930s | — | #4082 |
| 1940s | — | #4691 |
| 1970s | #8367 | — |
| 1980s | #2145 | #6651 |
| 1990s | #482 | #3490 |
| 2000s | #205 | #4980 |
| 2010s | #244 | #3169 |
| 2020s | #334 | #625 |
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
Mckenna
son of Cionaodh — a Gaelic given name built on the fire element Aodh
The surname derivation from Mac Cionaoith (older Mac Cionaodha) is well established. Cionaodh itself is the Irish counterpart of the Scottish Cinaed, the name behind Kenneth, and is usually read as 'born of fire'.
Aodh → Cionaodh → Mac Cionaoith → McKenna → Mckenna
How it traveled
The name starts in Irish as Mac Cionaoith, a patronymic surname of medieval Ulster; the McKennas were chiefs in the Truagh country of County Monaghan. Emigration carried it to Britain, North America and Australia, where the Gaelic Mac was flattened into Mc and the spelling settled into McKenna.
Murphy
sea-warrior — from Old Irish muir (sea) and cath (battle)
Murphy is the anglicized form of Ó Murchadha and Mac Murchadha, 'descendant/son of Murchadh'. Murchadh itself is the personal name meaning sea-warrior.
Murchadh → Ó Murchadha → Murphy
How it traveled
The root is Murchadh, an Old Irish personal name compounded from muir, 'sea', and cath, 'battle'. Families descended from men of that name became Ó Murchadha and Mac Murchadha, and when Gaelic names were pushed into English spelling the whole cluster flattened into Murphy — which is why it ended up the most common surname in Ireland rather than a rare one.
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
Mckenna
muh-KEN-uh
Three syllables with the weight on the middle one; the opening Mc is an unstressed 'muh'. Some speakers say mick-KEN-uh, closer to the surname.
- Kenna — The usual short form, and a given name in its own right in Scotland and the US.
- Mac — Informal, from the first syllable; shared with the whole family of Mc- surnames.
- Kenny — Informal and mostly family-only; better known as a short form of Kenneth.
- Kens — Casual, friend-level clipping of Kenna.
Murphy
MUR-fee
Stress on the first syllable. The spelling gives no trouble on either side of the Atlantic, and the -ph- is one of the few English spellings nobody hesitates over.
- Murph — The standard short form, long used informally for people with Murphy as a surname and carried straight over to the given name; casual, used by friends and teammates.
- Murf — Same short form, phonetic spelling; less common in writing.
- Mur — Occasional clipped family nickname; rarely written down.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mckenna if you want…
- a name fewer children share#410 in 2025 — mckenna will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsMckenna is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMckenna runs 3 syllables, Murphy 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 60% for Murphy
Choose Murphy if you want…
- a name most people already know#397 in 2025, 783 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 578 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMurphy is 2 syllables to Mckenna's 3
- a name that feels very nowMurphy is climbing the charts fast
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
Mckenna
Strengths
- Reads correctly on sight for most English speakers — the Mc- surname pattern is already familiar from names like Mackenzie.
- Comes with a ready-made short form, Kenna, which also works as a full name on paper.
- A documented Gaelic surname with centuries of record behind it, not a recent coinage.
To consider
- The spelling will need saying out loud often: Mckenna, McKenna, Mackenna and Makenna all circulate, and many people default to the interior capital K when writing it down.
- It sits close to Mackenzie, Makayla and Mikayla in sound, so mishearings and mix-ups are likely at roll call.
- As a surname-name it rose over a fairly narrow stretch of decades, which gives it a clear generational stamp — most people who share it are young adults now rather than children.
Murphy
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation are already known to nearly everyone in the US, thanks to the surname — no repeating, no correcting.
- Murph is a ready-made short form with a long history of informal use.
- Works as a family-name choice: it honors Irish ancestry directly rather than by association.
To consider
- It is a surname first, and a very common one. Expect forms, rosters and databases to occasionally file it in the wrong column, and expect some people to hear it as a last name before they hear it as a first.
- Murphy's Law is a fixed phrase in English, and a Murphy will hear the joke more than once. It is affectionate rather than unkind, but it will come.
- Most American Murphys born now are girls, so a boy carrying it may be assumed female on paper — even though the underlying Irish name was a man's. Worth knowing rather than worrying about.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Mckenna
40%chance Mckenna feels dated by 2040
Mckenna 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.
Murphy
60%chance Murphy feels dated by 2040
Murphy 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 Mckenna and Murphy in full.
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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.
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- Names ending in -y
- all guides
Where Mckenna and Murphy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mckenna or Murphy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mckenna or Murphy?
- Murphy, in 2025: Murphy ranked #397 with 783 babies; Mckenna ranked #410 with 758 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mckenna or Murphy?
- Murphy. Over the last five years Mckenna moved down 130 places; Murphy moved up 578 places.
- Which is the older name, Mckenna or Murphy?
- Mckenna entered the US charts in 1972; Murphy entered the US charts in 1898. On the American record, Murphy is the older name.
- How many people are named Mckenna and Murphy?
- About 44,000 people named Mckenna are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,600 people named Murphy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Mckennas or Murphys in the classroom?
- Mckenna will almost certainly be the only one in school. Murphy 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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