Head to head · Boys' names
Timothy vs Tyler
#203 vs #219 in 2025
Timothy is a whisker ahead (#203 vs #219 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Timothy is holding its place on the charts, Tyler 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, Timothy leads 3 measures of 6; Tyler 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
- 1880s: Timothy #187, Tyler #884 — Timothy higher
- 1890s: Timothy #211, Tyler #1060 — Timothy higher
- 1900s: Timothy #244, Tyler #1091 — Timothy higher
- 1910s: Timothy #328, Tyler #1298 — Timothy higher
- 1920s: Timothy #338, Tyler #1509 — Timothy higher
- 1930s: Timothy #254, Tyler #1500 — Timothy higher
- 1940s: Timothy #81, Tyler #977 — Timothy higher
- 1950s: Timothy #22, Tyler #701 — Timothy higher
- 1960s: Timothy #14, Tyler #455 — Timothy higher
- 1970s: Timothy #20, Tyler #214 — Timothy higher
- 1980s: Timothy #25, Tyler #57 — Timothy higher
- 1990s: Timothy #39, Tyler #10 — Tyler higher
- 2000s: Timothy #84, Tyler #18 — Tyler higher
- 2010s: Timothy #143, Tyler #78 — Tyler higher
- 2020s: Timothy #202, Tyler #173 — Tyler higher
Timothy stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Tyler has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Timothy | Tyler |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #187 | #884 |
| 1890s | #211 | #1060 |
| 1900s | #244 | #1091 |
| 1910s | #328 | #1298 |
| 1920s | #338 | #1509 |
| 1930s | #254 | #1500 |
| 1940s | #81 | #977 |
| 1950s | #22 | #701 |
| 1960s | #14 | #455 |
| 1970s | #20 | #214 |
| 1980s | #25 | #57 |
| 1990s | #39 | #10 |
| 2000s | #84 | #18 |
| 2010s | #143 | #78 |
| 2020s | #202 | #173 |
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
Timothy
honoring God
Greek Timotheos joins time, honor or worth, with theos, god. The compound can be read either way round — honoring God, or honored by God — and Greek does not settle it. The derivation itself is not disputed. Timothy of the epistles was Paul's traveling companion and the recipient of two letters; the name reached English in its Latin form and was anglicized during the sixteenth century.
Timotheos → Timotheus → Timothy
How it traveled
Timothy grass takes its name from Timothy Hanson, an eighteenth-century American farmer who promoted it as fodder — one of the very few cases where an ordinary man's first name became a botanical one. So a Timothy carries a Greek compound about honor and a hayfield at the same time.
Tyler
tile maker; one who lays tiles or bricks
From Middle English tyler, tiler, ultimately from Latin tegula, 'roof tile'. A straightforward occupational surname, like Baker or Fletcher.
tegula (Latin) → tieule / tuile (Old French) → tyler / tiler (Middle English occupation) → Tyler (English surname) → Tyler (given name)
How it traveled
Tyler is an English occupational surname, given to men who made or laid roof tiles — the word traces back through Old French to the Latin tegula. It is recorded in medieval England, most famously in Wat Tyler, who led the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
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
Timothy
TIM-uh-thee
TIM-uh-thee, three syllables, stress at the front, the middle reduced, the th as in think. Greek said the middle vowel fully and put the weight further back, so the English name has flattened it considerably.
- Tim — The front clipped, and a complete working name; what most Timothys go by.
- Timmy — The same softened, which belongs to childhood in most households.
- Timo — The European short form, standard across Finland and Germany and increasingly heard here.
Tyler
TY-lur
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with 'miler'. English speakers essentially never get it wrong on sight, and the spelling follows the sound.
- Ty — By far the most common short form, and a registered given name on its own in the US.
- Tye — Same sound, alternate spelling; used informally and occasionally as a standalone name.
- T — Informal, mostly among friends and teammates rather than family.
Who has carried each name
Timothy
Timothy Dalton (b. 1946) — James Bond of the late '80s
Timothy Olyphant (b. 1968) — Justified's Raylan Givens
Tyler
Tyler Perry (b. 1969) — Built a film empire from his Madea plays
Tyler Joseph (b. 1988) — Twenty One Pilots frontman
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 Timothy if you want…
- a name most people already know#203 in 2025, 1,734 babies that year
- a name with more sound in itTimothy runs 3 syllables, Tyler 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 84% for Tyler
Choose Tyler if you want…
- a name fewer children share#219 in 2025 — tyler will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsTyler is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesTyler is 2 syllables to Timothy's 3
- a name that feels very nowTyler 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
Timothy
Strengths
- The Greek compound is settled and both halves are ordinary, dignified words.
- Tim is a complete working short form that needs no explanation anywhere.
- It has been in continuous English use for four centuries without belonging to one decade.
To consider
- A great many people carry it, so a Timothy will rarely be the only Tim in a room.
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the last century in America.
- Almost every Timothy is called Tim, so the full name is largely ceremonial.
Tyler
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation match: English speakers read it correctly the first time and spell it correctly after hearing it once.
- A ready-made short form in Ty, in real use for generations and sturdy enough to stand alone.
- A documented English surname reaching back to the Middle Ages, with a plain occupational meaning anyone can explain in a sentence.
To consider
- Its big wave has passed, so most Tylers walking around are grown men rather than children. A baby Tyler may read as slightly older than his classmates' names for a while — though that gap tends to close as a generation ages.
- Tylor and Tylar exist, so the occasional spelling check happens, even though Tyler is the form nearly everyone assumes.
- Ty is shared with Tyson, Tyrone and Tyree, which can mean a moment of sorting out in a group.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Timothy
12%chance Timothy feels dated by 2040
Timothy has held the top-100 across 7 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Tyler
84%chance Tyler feels dated by 2040
Tyler is coming down from a big peak (#5 in 1993). 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 Timothy and Tyler 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 Timothy and Tyler?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Timothy and Tyler — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Timothy or Tyler — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Timothy or Tyler?
- Timothy, in 2025: Timothy ranked #203 with 1,734 babies; Tyler ranked #219 with 1,633 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Timothy or Tyler?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Timothy moved down 11 places; Tyler moved down 89 places.
- Which is the older name, Timothy or Tyler?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Timothy and Tyler?
- About 922,000 people named Timothy are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 586,000 people named Tyler are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Timothys or Tylers in the classroom?
- Timothy will almost certainly be the only one in school. Tyler 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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