Paris
Feminine
Paris is given to both — 33,663 girls and 9,260 boys since 1880. See Paris as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Two roads meet at this spelling: the Trojan prince of Homer's Iliad, and the city on the Seine that took its name from a Gaulish people called the Parisii. English speakers have used it as a given name since the Middle Ages, and it has been on American birth records for over a century. Two syllables, no silent letters, recognized on sight in most of the world.
How old is the name Paris?
Paris first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Paris alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 33,000 people named Paris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Paris most popular?
Paris peaked in 2004, reaching #157 nationally. Today it ranks #592, 435 places below that high. See the whole 2004 chart.
Paris appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From Parisii (Gaulish people) to Paris
The story of Paris
The oldest Paris is the Trojan prince of Homer's Iliad, and the name traveled into medieval Europe with him — it appears on English records in the Middle Ages as a man's name and hardened into a surname. The city carries a separate history: a Roman settlement called Lutetia in the territory of the Parisii, which in late Roman and early medieval usage came to be called by the tribe's name instead. When Paris began turning up in American birth records early in the twentieth century, it arrived mostly by that second road, as a place name used the way Florence and Geneva had been. There are Parises in Texas and Kentucky too, and the name has always been strongest in the South.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Nobody has settled a meaning for this one, and both of its roads end the same way. The city is named for the Parisii, a Gaulish people whose own tribal name has never been convincingly translated — the Roman town on that site was called Lutetia first. The Trojan prince's name in Greek, Πάρις, is older than Greek itself and resists translation too. What the record gives is ownership and place, not a definition.
How the name formed
- ParisiiGaulish people
- Latin Parisius
- Old French Paris
- English Paris
Related forms: Paris · Πάρις · Paride · París · Páris · Paris
Pronouncing Paris
PAIR-iss
PAIR-iss throughout the English-speaking world, stress on the first syllable. The French pronounce the city's name pa-REE, and some families enjoy that version; both are understood, but the English form is what a US classroom will default to.
Nicknames for Paris
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 20042,150 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #157reached in 2004
- Change vs 2023
- −20.2%497 in 2025, from 623
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Paris in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Paris in French — same name
- Πάρις in Greek — transliteration
- Paride in Italian — related form
- París in Spanish — spelling variant
- Páris in Portuguese — spelling variant
- Paris in Latin — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, Georgia.
Pariss among us
people named Paris are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 3,234 born in 2025 was named Paris
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Imogene test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Paris's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Imogene climbed just as high around 1927, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Imogene's path sketches the road Paris is walking now.
Paris sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Paris is headed
Paris should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Paris beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Paris in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the way everyone already spells it — one of the few names you almost never have to repeat, clarify or correct.
- Recognized in nearly every language on earth, which travels well across borders and family lines.
- Two clean syllables with the stress up front; sits easily beside long surnames and short ones alike.
- A written record reaching from Homer to medieval English rolls to modern birth certificates.
- Common enough to be instantly familiar, uncommon enough that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- It is inseparable from the city. Expect a lifetime of remarks about the Eiffel Tower, croissants and whether she's been — friendly, mostly, but constant.
- The name's rise and its current easing back both track a very visible American celebrity of the early 2000s. For people who remember that era, the association is still the first one they reach for.
- In Homer, Paris is a man — the prince who left with Helen and helped start the war. In the US the spelling reads as a girl's name without confusion, but the classical figure is a mixed literary godparent.
- Short forms are scarce and none is standard, so it will mostly be used whole. For a two-syllable name, that is no great burden.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Paris to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Paris? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Paris
Feminine · #592 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Pariss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 33,000 people named Paris are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Paris in 2025?
- Paris ranks #592 among US girl names in 2025, with 497 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Paris?
- About 1 in every 3,234 US girls born in 2025 was named Paris — 497 in all.
- Will my child share the name Paris with classmates?
- Paris will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Paris
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Makenna#593 · Meilani#590 · Reyna#594 · Marigold#590 · Halle#595 · Avianna#595 · Tiana#595 · Mina#595
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Paris? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Paris and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle