Head to head · Boys' names
Princeton vs Quincy
#652 vs #652 in 2025
Princeton and Quincy share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#652). 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, Quincy leads 3 measures of 6; Princeton 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: Princeton —, Quincy #721 — Quincy higher
- 1890s: Princeton —, Quincy #750 — Quincy higher
- 1900s: Princeton —, Quincy #782 — Quincy higher
- 1910s: Princeton —, Quincy #923 — Quincy higher
- 1920s: Princeton —, Quincy #1058 — Quincy higher
- 1930s: Princeton —, Quincy #1058 — Quincy higher
- 1940s: Princeton —, Quincy #1051 — Quincy higher
- 1950s: Princeton #3486, Quincy #997 — Quincy higher
- 1960s: Princeton #3599, Quincy #846 — Quincy higher
- 1970s: Princeton #4309, Quincy #398 — Quincy higher
- 1980s: Princeton #1971, Quincy #457 — Quincy higher
- 1990s: Princeton #2446, Quincy #497 — Quincy higher
- 2000s: Princeton #2484, Quincy #479 — Quincy higher
- 2010s: Princeton #602, Quincy #598 — Quincy higher
- 2020s: Princeton #534, Quincy #653 — Princeton higher
Quincy stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Princeton took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Princeton | Quincy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #721 |
| 1890s | — | #750 |
| 1900s | — | #782 |
| 1910s | — | #923 |
| 1920s | — | #1058 |
| 1930s | — | #1058 |
| 1940s | — | #1051 |
| 1950s | #3486 | #997 |
| 1960s | #3599 | #846 |
| 1970s | #4309 | #398 |
| 1980s | #1971 | #457 |
| 1990s | #2446 | #497 |
| 2000s | #2484 | #479 |
| 2010s | #602 | #598 |
| 2020s | #534 | #653 |
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
Princeton
prince's town
The word itself is straightforward English: prince joined to the very old -ton ending, from Old English tūn, meaning an enclosure, farmstead or settlement. What has never been settled is why the New Jersey town was given that name — proposals include a tribute to William of Orange, Prince of Orange, and a local landowner surnamed Prince.
princeps (Latin) → prince (Old French) → tūn (Old English, settlement) → Princeton (English place name, New Jersey) → Princeton (given name)
How it traveled
Princeton began as a settlement in central New Jersey, established by Quaker families in the early eighteenth century and bearing this name by the 1720s. It became a Revolutionary landmark when Washington's army fought there in January 1777, and later gave its name to the college in the town, which formally became Princeton University in the 1890s.
Quincy
estate of Quintus — from the Latin name Quintus, 'fifth'
The French place names Quincy come from Gallo-Roman Quintiacum, the holding of a man called Quintius or Quintus. Quintus itself was given in Roman families to a fifth child.
Quintus → Quintiacum → de Quincy → Quincy
How it traveled
There are several villages in France named Quincy, each from a Gallo-Roman landholder's name, and Norman families took the place name with them as a surname — de Quincy turns up among the Anglo-Norman nobility of England and Scotland in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The surname reached colonial New England, where the Quincys of Massachusetts gave their name to a town south of Boston and, through marriage, to the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams.
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
Princeton
PRINS-tun
Stress on the first syllable, with the t clearly sounded. Almost no one hesitates over it — the town and the university have made the spelling and the sound familiar across the English-speaking world.
- Prince — The obvious short form, and a well-established given name in its own right in the US.
- P — Initial-only, used informally within families and among friends.
Quincy
KWIN-see
KWIN-see is the standard pronunciation of the name. The Massachusetts town is locally KWIN-zee, so the occasional person will try that reading first; one correction usually settles it.
- Quin — The most common short form, used informally and in writing alike.
- Quinn — The same sound with the spelling of an independent given name now used for boys and girls.
- Q — An initial used as a nickname, mostly among friends and teammates rather than family.
- Quincey — An older spelling of the full name that also circulates as an affectionate variant.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Princeton if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsPrinceton is stepping back from its peak
- a newer arrivalPrinceton entered the US charts in 1950
Choose Quincy if you want…
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Quin, Quinn and Q
- a long American recordQuincy 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
Princeton
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and read correctly on sight by nearly every American, thanks to the town and the university.
- Comes with Prince already built in as a short form — itself a name in independent use.
- Fits an existing pattern of -ton names, so it sits comfortably beside Weston, Colton and Easton in a sibling set or a classroom.
To consider
- The university association is immediate and lifelong. Expect the question about whether the family went there, and expect the occasional joke about admissions. Some people will hear ambition in the name before they hear the child.
- Its wave as a given name is very recent and concentrated in the South and Texas, so it may read as a name of this particular era rather than a name from no time in particular.
- Prince, the natural short form, carries strong associations of its own — worth deciding in advance whether you like it, because others will reach for it.
Quincy
Strengths
- Instantly spellable for most Americans thanks to the town, the president and the -cy ending; almost no one needs it repeated twice.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Quin, Quinn, Q — none of which had to be invented.
- Recorded for boys and girls both, so it works either way without becoming a different name.
To consider
- It leans male in the records without settling there. A girl named Quincy will meet forms and teachers that assume a boy — manageable, but worth expecting.
- The spelling competes with Quincey, and Quinn is close enough in sound that people may default to it. Expect to confirm which one you meant.
- The name carries strong cultural associations for adults — a celebrated American musician and a long-running television series — which may come up more with older acquaintances than with classmates.
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 Princeton and Quincy 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 Princeton and Quincy?
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 these names appear on
- Nine-letter names, the long end of the chart
- Royal title names: King, Reign, Royal
- Names with a Q in them
- Borrowed from the girls: names boys are taking back
- all guides
Where Princeton and Quincy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Princeton or Quincy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Princeton or Quincy?
- They tie in 2025: Princeton ranked #652 with 422 babies; Quincy ranked #652 with 422 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Princeton or Quincy?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Princeton moved down 240 places; Quincy moved down 47 places.
- Which is the older name, Princeton or Quincy?
- Princeton entered the US charts in 1950; Quincy was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Quincy is the older name.
- How many people are named Princeton and Quincy?
- About 10,000 people named Princeton are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 25,000 people named Quincy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Princetons or Quincys in the classroom?
- Princeton will almost certainly be the only one in school. Quincy 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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