Head to head · Girls' names
Raegan vs Yara
#505 vs #507 in 2025
Raegan is a whisker ahead (#505 vs #507 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Raegan is stepping back from its peak, Yara is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Yara has the edge.
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 5 measures of 6; Yara leads 1.
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: Raegan #3814, Yara #6617 — Raegan higher
- 1970s: Raegan #2815, Yara #4866 — Raegan higher
- 1980s: Raegan #3590, Yara #3276 — Yara higher
- 1990s: Raegan #1535, Yara #2836 — Raegan higher
- 2000s: Raegan #482, Yara #1783 — Raegan higher
- 2010s: Raegan #292, Yara #1122 — Raegan higher
- 2020s: Raegan #375, Yara #597 — Raegan higher
Raegan stood higher in 6 of 7 decades; Raegan has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raegan | Yara |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | #3814 | #6617 |
| 1970s | #2815 | #4866 |
| 1980s | #3590 | #3276 |
| 1990s | #1535 | #2836 |
| 2000s | #482 | #1783 |
| 2010s | #292 | #1122 |
| 2020s | #375 | #597 |
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
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.
Yara
Several genuine readings: "lady of the water" (Tupi), "honeycomb, honeysuckle" (Hebrew), "strength, capability" (Persian)
In Brazilian folklore, Iara — also written Yara — is the woman of the river, her name traced to Tupi elements for water and lady or lord. In Hebrew, Ya'ara (יערה) means honeycomb or honeysuckle. In Persian, yārā carries the sense of strength or capability and stands beside yār, "friend, companion." Yara is also widely used across the Arabic-speaking world, where it is often glossed online as "small butterfly"; that reading circulates far more widely than any evidence for it. An unsettled name here means a well-populated one, not a broken one.
How it traveled
This is one spelling standing at a crossroads rather than one name with one road. Brazilian Portuguese has Iara, sometimes spelled Yara, from Tupi-Guarani story, where she belongs to the river; the name has been used for girls in Brazil for generations.
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
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.
Yara
YAH-rah
Two even syllables, stress on the first, the a's as in "father." Some American speakers land on YAIR-uh instead, closer to "Sarah." The Brazilian form Iara is said ee-AH-rah, with the stress in the middle.
- Yaya — The most common affectionate form, used at home and by younger siblings; rarely written down.
- Ya — A clipped call-name among family and close friends rather than anything formal.
- Yari — Occasional playful extension; also exists on its own in Spanish-speaking families.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Raegan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsRaegan is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesRaegan is 2 syllables to Yara's 3
Choose Yara if you want…
- a name on the way upup 147 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itYara runs 3 syllables, Raegan 2
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
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.
Yara
Strengths
- Four letters, two syllables, and no silent or optional ones — most people can spell it correctly after hearing it once.
- Belongs naturally in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Portuguese as well as English, so it travels between families and countries without translation.
- Reads unmistakably as a girl's name in American use, with no gender-guessing on a class list.
To consider
- The competing spellings are the real friction: Yara, Yarah and Iara all exist, and someone will occasionally write the wrong one. Choosing Yara puts you on the version most used in American records.
- The "small butterfly" meaning appears on many websites with nothing solid behind it. If the meaning is part of why you love the name, it is worth knowing which readings are actually documented.
- In Turkish, the word yara means "wound" — irrelevant in most American settings, but worth knowing if your family or circle includes Turkish speakers.
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 Raegan and Yara in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Raegan and Yara?
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
Where Raegan and Yara each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raegan or Yara — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raegan or Yara?
- Raegan, in 2025: Raegan ranked #505 with 589 babies; Yara ranked #507 with 585 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raegan or Yara?
- Yara. Over the last five years Raegan moved down 246 places; Yara moved up 147 places.
- Which is the older name, Raegan or Yara?
- Raegan entered the US charts in 1963; Yara entered the US charts in 1969. On the American record, Raegan is the older name.
- How many people are named Raegan and Yara?
- About 25,000 people named Raegan are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,500 people named Yara are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Raegans or Yaras in the classroom?
- Raegan will almost certainly be the only one in school. Yara 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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