Head to head · Girls' names
Nylah vs Raegan
#503 vs #505 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Nylah is a whisker ahead (#503 vs #505 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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, Raegan leads 3 measures of 6; Nylah 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
- 1960s: Nylah —, Raegan #3814 — Raegan higher
- 1970s: Nylah —, Raegan #2815 — Raegan higher
- 1980s: Nylah —, Raegan #3590 — Raegan higher
- 1990s: Nylah #5757, Raegan #1535 — Raegan higher
- 2000s: Nylah #1374, Raegan #482 — Raegan higher
- 2010s: Nylah #441, Raegan #292 — Raegan higher
- 2020s: Nylah #428, Raegan #375 — Raegan higher
Raegan stood higher in every recorded decade — 7 of 7.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Nylah | Raegan |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | — | #3814 |
| 1970s | — | #2815 |
| 1980s | — | #3590 |
| 1990s | #5757 | #1535 |
| 2000s | #1374 | #482 |
| 2010s | #441 | #292 |
| 2020s | #428 | #375 |
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
Nylah
Most often read as "achiever, one who attains" (Arabic) or "dark blue" (Sanskrit)
Two well-documented roads lead to this sound. Arabic Nā'ila, feminine of Nā'il, means "one who attains or achieves," and gives Naila and Nyla. Sanskrit nīla, "dark blue," gives Nila and Neela, used across South Asia. A third path is simply English name-building: Ny- plus -lah, on the pattern of Layla, Kayla and Mila, chosen for sound rather than translation. The Nylah spelling is recent enough that no single one of these can claim it outright.
Nā'ila → Naila → Nyla → Nylah
How it traveled
The older forms came first and separately. Nā'ila has been in use in Arabic-speaking communities for many centuries; nīla, the Sanskrit word for dark blue, stands behind Nila and Neela across India and Sri Lanka.
Raegan
from the Irish personal name Riagán, most often read as 'little king'
Two readings compete. The most widely repeated links Riagán to Irish rí, 'king', giving 'little king' or 'descendant of the king'. Others connect it to a root meaning 'impulsive' or 'fierce'. Neither has won; the name is old enough that its first element is genuinely obscure.
Riagán → Ó Riagáin → Regan → Reagan → Raegan
How it traveled
The name begins as Riagán, an early Irish personal name, which gave the surname Ó Riagáin — anglicized as O'Regan, Regan and Reagan, long associated with counties Cork, Limerick and Meath. Irish emigration carried the surname across the United States in the nineteenth century, where, like Ryan, Kennedy and Quinn, it eventually crossed over into use as a first name.
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
Nylah
NY-lah
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with Layla's ending: NY-lah. Families with South Asian roots sometimes use NEE-lah instead, following Nila. Either is correct; it is worth deciding early which one you will be repeating.
- Ny — The most common short form, used at home and among friends; rhymes with "my."
- Lala — An affectionate family nickname built from the second syllable, mostly used with young children.
- Nyny — A doubled baby-name form; tends to be dropped around school age.
- Nyla — The plainer spelling often used informally, and a standing given name in its own right.
Raegan
RAY-gən
Stress on the first syllable, with the second reduced to something close to 'gun'. The related spelling Regan is sometimes said REE-gan, especially in Shakespeare; Raegan's ae signals the long A and largely prevents that.
- Rae — The standard short form, and a long-established given name in its own right, so it works on a résumé as well as at the dinner table.
- Rae-Rae — A family and playground doubling, generally used with young children and rarely carried into adulthood.
- Gan — An occasional informal clip used among siblings and close friends; uncommon.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Nylah if you want…
On the measures here, the records do not separate Nylah from Raegan.
Choose Raegan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRaegan 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
Nylah
Strengths
- Reads correctly on first sight for most English speakers, because it sits in the well-known Layla and Ayla sound pattern.
- Two short syllables, all open vowels — easy to say in Arabic, Spanish, Hindi and English alike.
- Genuinely uncommon: a Nylah is very unlikely to share her name with a classmate.
To consider
- The spelling will need saying out loud. Nyla, Nila, Naila and Neela are all live alternatives, so expect to spell it at the doctor's office and on coffee cups for life.
- Two pronunciations circulate — NY-lah and NEE-lah — and people who know the South Asian Nila may reach for the second one.
- This is a recent name in American use. Nearly everyone carrying it is still a child, so there are few grown women named Nylah to point to yet — that changes on its own with time.
Raegan
Strengths
- Reads correctly on sight for English speakers — the ae spelling points clearly to the long A.
- Comes with Rae, a short form that also stands alone as a full given name.
- Sits on a surname with a documented Irish line going back to the personal name Riagán.
To consider
- Reagan is the spelling most people reach for first. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections: spelling it out on forms, and finding it written the other way on coffee cups and class lists.
- The surname is strongly attached to Ronald Reagan in American ears, which for some families is a plus and for others a reason to pause. The effect fades with the respelling but does not disappear.
- In Shakespeare's King Lear, Regan is one of the treacherous daughters — a faint literary shadow that most people will not make, though English teachers may.
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 Nylah and Raegan 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 Nylah and Raegan?
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.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
Where Nylah and Raegan each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Nylah or Raegan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Nylah or Raegan?
- Nylah, in 2025: Nylah ranked #503 with 590 babies; Raegan ranked #505 with 589 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Nylah or Raegan?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Nylah moved down 101 places; Raegan moved down 246 places.
- Which is the older name, Nylah or Raegan?
- Nylah entered the US charts in 1992; Raegan entered the US charts in 1963. On the American record, Raegan is the older name.
- How many people are named Nylah and Raegan?
- About 13,500 people named Nylah are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 25,000 people named Raegan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Nylahs or Raegans in the classroom?
- Nylah will almost certainly be the only one in school. Raegan 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
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