Ardell vs Ardith
American parents have registered 5,712 Ardiths since 1880, against 5,070 Ardells. Neither name reached five babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Ardell Ardith
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 122 years in which either name was published, Ardell for 85 years and Ardith for 37 years. The lead changed hands 16 times.
- 1889–1920 Ardell ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1927–1955 Ardith ahead, apart from one short spell
- 1962–2023 Ardell ahead, apart from one short spell
11 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Ardell | Ardith | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 5,070 | 5,712 |
| Most in one year | 151 | 182 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 1,500 | 1,900 |
| Median age today | 70 | 78 |
| Peak year | 1922 | 1930 |
| Best rank | 742nd girls | 504th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | unranked |
| First recorded | 1889 | 1904 |
| Girls / boys | 2,635 / 2,435 | 5,581 / 131 |
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 Ardiths alive today are over 78; half the Ardells are over 70. That is 8 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Ardell North Dakota (35.5×), Minnesota (16.4×), South Dakota (11.2×)
- Ardith Nebraska (12.7×), Iowa (9.5×), North Dakota (5.5×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Ardell and Ardith.