Head to head · Girls' names
Naomi vs Riley
#47 vs #48 in 2025
Naomi is a whisker ahead (#47 vs #48 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Naomi is holding its place on the charts, Riley 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, Naomi leads 4 measures of 6; Riley 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: Naomi #247, Riley — — Naomi higher
- 1890s: Naomi #186, Riley — — Naomi higher
- 1900s: Naomi #156, Riley — — Naomi higher
- 1910s: Naomi #138, Riley — — Naomi higher
- 1920s: Naomi #138, Riley #4510 — Naomi higher
- 1930s: Naomi #153, Riley #4175 — Naomi higher
- 1940s: Naomi #230, Riley #4624 — Naomi higher
- 1950s: Naomi #313, Riley #5091 — Naomi higher
- 1960s: Naomi #381, Riley #6417 — Naomi higher
- 1970s: Naomi #297, Riley #5803 — Naomi higher
- 1980s: Naomi #239, Riley #2304 — Naomi higher
- 1990s: Naomi #230, Riley #393 — Naomi higher
- 2000s: Naomi #145, Riley #68 — Riley higher
- 2010s: Naomi #78, Riley #37 — Riley higher
- 2020s: Naomi #48, Riley #40 — Riley higher
Naomi stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Riley has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Naomi | Riley |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #247 | — |
| 1890s | #186 | — |
| 1900s | #156 | — |
| 1910s | #138 | — |
| 1920s | #138 | #4510 |
| 1930s | #153 | #4175 |
| 1940s | #230 | #4624 |
| 1950s | #313 | #5091 |
| 1960s | #381 | #6417 |
| 1970s | #297 | #5803 |
| 1980s | #239 | #2304 |
| 1990s | #230 | #393 |
| 2000s | #145 | #68 |
| 2010s | #78 | #37 |
| 2020s | #48 | #40 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Naomi
- Canada#64
Riley
- Canada#74
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Naomi
Pleasantness; pleasant, agreeable
From the Hebrew root naʿem, 'to be pleasant or sweet'. The Book of Ruth plays on it directly: returning widowed, Naomi tells the women of Bethlehem to call her Mara, 'bitter', instead.
Naʿomi (Hebrew) → Noemin (Greek Septuagint) → Noemi (Latin Vulgate) → Naomi (English)
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, and its written life begins in the Book of Ruth. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Noemin, and the Latin Vulgate Noemi — the form that still stands in Italian, Spanish and Polish.
Riley
Either 'descendant of Raghallach' (Irish) or 'rye clearing' (English)
Two separate surnames arrived at the same spelling. The Irish Ó Raghallaigh means 'descendant of Raghallach', an old personal name whose own meaning has never been settled. The English Riley comes from places such as Ryley in Lancashire, from Old English ryge 'rye' and lēah 'wood, clearing'. Both readings are sound; which one sits behind a particular family usually depends on where that family came from.
Raghallach → Ó Raghallaigh → O'Reilly → Reilly → Riley
How it traveled
The Irish road runs through Ó Raghallaigh, the name of a family long associated with County Cavan, anglicized as O'Reilly and then Reilly, with Riley emerging as one of its common spellings among emigrants. The English road is quite separate: a place name from Lancashire, built from the Old English words for rye and for a woodland clearing, which became a surname for people who came from there.
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
Naomi
nay-OH-mee
nay-OH-mee is standard in American English; some speakers stress the first syllable instead, NAY-oh-mee. The Hebrew is closer to nah-oh-MEE, with the weight at the end, and Japanese bearers of the identical spelling say nah-oh-mee with even syllables.
- Nomi — The most established short form, and a given name in its own right in Israel.
- Naomi — Most bearers in English use the full name in every setting, formal and casual alike.
- Mimi — Informal, drawn from the last two syllables; family use more than school use.
- Nay — Casual clipped form, mostly spoken rather than written.
- Also Omi.
Riley
RYE-lee
Stress on the first syllable. Pronounced the same way for boys and girls, and identically across Reilly, Rylee and Ryleigh.
- Ry — The most common informal clip, used within families and among friends.
- Riles — Casual and affectionate, mostly used by peers rather than adults.
- Rye — Occasional playful shortening; leans on the English rye-clearing reading.
Who has carried each name
Naomi
Naomi Watts (b. 1968) — Two-time Oscar nominee (The Impossible)
Naomi Campbell (b. 1970) — One of the original '90s supermodels
Naomi Osaka (b. 1997) — Four-time Grand Slam tennis champion
Riley
Riley Keough (b. 1989) — Daisy Jones & the Six star, Elvis Presley's granddaughter
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 Naomi if you want…
- a name on the way upup 5 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itNaomi runs 3 syllables, Riley 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Nomi, Naomi and Mimi
- a long American recordNaomi was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Riley if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRiley is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesRiley is 2 syllables to Naomi's 3
- a newer arrivalRiley entered the US charts in 1923
- a name that feels very nowRiley 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
Naomi
Strengths
- A spelling nearly everyone can already write from hearing it once, with no silent letters or doubled consonants to explain.
- Recognizable across Hebrew, French, Italian, Spanish and Polish, so it travels without translation.
- A continuous written record from the Book of Ruth to the present, and continuous English use since the Reformation.
To consider
- Stress placement genuinely varies — nay-OH-mee, NAY-oh-mee, nah-oh-MEE — so she may spend a lifetime gently correcting people, or simply answering to all three.
- Noemi, Noemie and Naomie are all live spellings elsewhere, which means the occasional form filled out wrong even though the English spelling is the plain one.
- The name sits close to the strongest showing it has ever had in the United States, so it is climbing rather than obscure — familiar to most people who hear it, though a child is still unlikely to share a classroom with another.
Riley
Strengths
- Reads exactly as it is spelled for English speakers — no correction needed after the first hearing.
- Works for a boy or a girl without changing anything, since the source is a family name rather than a gendered one.
- Two clean syllables that sit easily beside most surnames, long or short.
To consider
- The spelling competes with Rylee, Ryleigh and Reilly, all pronounced the same. Expect to spell it aloud fairly often, though the plain Riley form is the one most people default to.
- In the US this spelling goes mainly to girls, so a boy named Riley will meet the occasional wrong assumption on a class list or a form. It is a correction, not a problem.
- Its wave is recent and concentrated, so most Rileys alive today are close in age — the name reads as belonging to a particular generation rather than as an old family name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Naomi
40%chance Naomi feels dated by 2040
Naomi 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.
Riley
81%chance Riley feels dated by 2040
Riley is coming down from a big peak (#22 in 2016). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Naomi and Riley 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 Naomi and Riley?
Put both to the vote.
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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
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Five-letter names, the comfortable middle
- all guides
Every list here names both Naomi and Riley — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Naomi or Riley — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Naomi or Riley?
- Naomi, in 2025: Naomi ranked #47 with 4,644 babies; Riley ranked #48 with 4,441 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Naomi or Riley?
- Naomi. Over the last five years Naomi moved up 5 places; Riley moved down 15 places.
- Which is the older name, Naomi or Riley?
- Naomi was already in use when US records began in 1880; Riley entered the US charts in 1923. On the American record, Naomi is the older name.
- How many people are named Naomi and Riley?
- About 139,000 people named Naomi are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 141,000 people named Riley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Naomis or Rileys in the classroom?
- Naomi will almost certainly be the only one in school. Riley 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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