Arabella vs Arah

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Arabella Arah

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 138 years in which either name was published, Arabella for 122 years and Arah for 16 years. The lead changed hands 12 times.

• 1884–1972 Arabella ahead, apart from 2 short spells
• 1974–1989 Arah ahead, apart from one short spell
• 1990–2025 Arabella ahead

7 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Arahs alive today are over 35; half the Arabellas are over 8. That is 27 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

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