Head to head · Boys' names
Pedro vs Sage
#455 vs #455 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Pedro and Sage share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#455). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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, Pedro leads 3 measures of 6; Sage leads 0.
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: Pedro #363, Sage — — Pedro higher
- 1890s: Pedro #346, Sage — — Pedro higher
- 1900s: Pedro #289, Sage — — Pedro higher
- 1910s: Pedro #359, Sage — — Pedro higher
- 1920s: Pedro #293, Sage #4322 — Pedro higher
- 1930s: Pedro #293, Sage — — Pedro higher
- 1940s: Pedro #313, Sage — — Pedro higher
- 1950s: Pedro #303, Sage — — Pedro higher
- 1960s: Pedro #286, Sage #3866 — Pedro higher
- 1970s: Pedro #230, Sage #1666 — Pedro higher
- 1980s: Pedro #205, Sage #1695 — Pedro higher
- 1990s: Pedro #196, Sage #677 — Pedro higher
- 2000s: Pedro #228, Sage #648 — Pedro higher
- 2010s: Pedro #354, Sage #628 — Pedro higher
- 2020s: Pedro #423, Sage #422 — Sage higher
Pedro stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Sage took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Pedro | Sage |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #363 | — |
| 1890s | #346 | — |
| 1900s | #289 | — |
| 1910s | #359 | — |
| 1920s | #293 | #4322 |
| 1930s | #293 | — |
| 1940s | #313 | — |
| 1950s | #303 | — |
| 1960s | #286 | #3866 |
| 1970s | #230 | #1666 |
| 1980s | #205 | #1695 |
| 1990s | #196 | #677 |
| 2000s | #228 | #648 |
| 2010s | #354 | #628 |
| 2020s | #423 | #422 |
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
Pedro
Rock, stone
Greek Petros translates the Aramaic word for rock, kepha — the name given to the apostle Simon in the New Testament, where it appears in Greek as both Petros and Kephas.
Kepha → Petros → Petrus → Pedro
How it traveled
The name begins as a word rather than a name: Greek petros, "stone," used to render the Aramaic kepha in the Gospels, where the apostle Simon is renamed. Latin turned it into Petrus, and from Petrus the Romance languages each took their own road — Pierre in France, Pietro in Italy, Pere in Catalonia, and Pedro in both Spanish and Portuguese.
Sage
"wise one" — and also the herb sage
Two different English words share this spelling, and the name draws on both. "Sage" meaning wise comes through Old French from Latin sapere, "to be wise, to have taste." The herb comes through Old French sauge from Latin salvia, a word tied to salvus, "healthy" — the plant was grown as medicine. Parents choose it for either sense, and neither reading is wrong.
Latin sapere → Old French sage → Middle English sage → Sage (surname) → Sage
How it traveled
" From the wisdom sense came an English surname, applied to someone reputed for good judgment, and surnames are the usual road a word takes into first-name use. In the United States the word picked up a second landscape entirely — the silver-grey sagebrush of the western plains, and the soft green named after 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
Pedro
PEH-droh
Two syllables, stress on the first. In Spanish and Portuguese the r is a light tap; English speakers usually say PED-roh or PAY-droh, and both are widely accepted.
- Pedrito — The standard Spanish diminutive, affectionate and used mostly within the family and in childhood.
- Pedrinho — The Portuguese and Brazilian diminutive, common for boys and in sports commentary.
- Perico — A long-established Spanish familiar form; also a common word for a parakeet, so it reads as playful.
- Pete — Used in English-speaking settings by Pedros who work across both languages; borrowed from Peter rather than from Pedro itself.
- Also Pedrão.
Sage
SAYJ
Exactly the English word: one syllable, soft g, rhyming with page. There is no competing pronunciation to correct.
- Sagey — Affectionate family form, mostly used with small children; rarely written down.
- Sage — In practice the name stays whole — one syllable leaves little to trim, and it works as both the formal and the everyday form.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Pedro if you want…
- a name holding steadyPedro is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itPedro runs 2 syllables, Sage 1
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Pedrito, Pedrinho and Perico
- a long American recordPedro was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Sage if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesSage is 1 syllable to Pedro's 2
- a newer arrivalSage entered the US charts in 1921
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
Pedro
Strengths
- Spelled the same in Spanish, Portuguese and English, with no variant spellings competing for it — rarely misspelled once heard.
- Maps directly onto Peter, Pierre, Pietro and Pere, so it connects a child to relatives with the same name in another language.
- An unbroken record from the medieval Iberian kingdoms to the present, with no gap that would date it to one generation.
To consider
- In English-only settings the vowels get flattened and the tapped r disappears, so the name your family says at home and the name a coach shouts across a field may not sound quite the same.
- The 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite put "Vote for Pedro" on T-shirts, and the phrase still surfaces. It has faded a good deal, but it is worth knowing about.
- Pedro has sometimes been used in American popular culture as a generic stand-in for a Spanish-speaking man, which can invite lazy jokes from people who deal in them.
Sage
Strengths
- Spelled like a common English word, so it is written correctly from hearing and said correctly from reading — no repeating, no clarifying.
- One syllable, which sits easily in front of long or multi-syllable surnames.
- Works on records for a boy or a girl without alteration, and reads the same in every English-speaking country.
To consider
- It is rising, not resting. A Sage born now may share the name with more classmates by high school than in kindergarten — not crowded, but noticeably more familiar than it is today.
- Most Sages are girls, so a boy named Sage will occasionally be assumed female on paper, and a girl named Sage shares the spelling with boys. Neither is a problem, but both come up.
- The word carries other baggage: a kitchen herb, a paint color, a wellness aisle, and a steady supply of "sage advice" jokes from adults who think they are the first.
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 Pedro and Sage 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
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Pedro or Sage — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Pedro or Sage?
- They tie in 2025: Pedro ranked #455 with 684 babies; Sage ranked #455 with 684 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Pedro or Sage?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Pedro moved down 45 places; Sage moved down 19 places.
- Which is the older name, Pedro or Sage?
- Pedro was already in use when US records began in 1880; Sage entered the US charts in 1921. On the American record, Pedro is the older name.
- How many people are named Pedro and Sage?
- About 77,500 people named Pedro are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 15,500 people named Sage are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Pedros or Sages in the classroom?
- Pedro will almost certainly be the only one in school. Sage 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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