Arnetta vs Arnie
American parents have registered 3,248 Arnettas since 1880, against 2,323 Arnies. But in 2025 it was Arnie that was commoner, 14 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Arnetta Arnie
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, Arnetta for 79 years and Arnie for 43 years. The lead changed hands 24 times.
- 1904–1908 Arnetta ahead
- 1909–1913 Arnie ahead
- 1923–1989 Arnetta ahead, apart from 3 short spells
- 1996–2025 Arnie ahead
18 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Arnetta | Arnie | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 3,248 | 2,323 |
| Most in one year | 82 | 60 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 14 |
| Estimated living today | 1,900 | 1,200 |
| Median age today | 64 | 61 |
| Peak year | 1953 | 1960 |
| Best rank | 1,064th girls | 981st boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 6,143rd |
| First recorded | 1894 | 1887 |
| Girls / boys | 3,248 / 0 | 235 / 2,088 |
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 Arnettas alive today are over 64; half the Arnies are over 61. That is 3 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Arnetta North Carolina (4.8×), Illinois (3.6×), Pennsylvania (3.4×)
- Arnie Minnesota (7.7×), California (4.1×)
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: Arnetta and Arnie.