Parnell vs Parris
American parents have registered 3,572 Parrises since 1880, against 1,479 Parnells. Parris is still ahead, with 12 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Parnell Parris
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 114 years in which either name was published, Parris for 69 years and Parnell for 45 years. The lead changed hands 17 times.
- 1912–1956 Parnell ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 1957–2025 Parris ahead, apart from one short spell
13 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Parnell | Parris | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,479 | 3,572 |
| Most in one year | 39 | 121 |
| Babies in 2025 | under 5 | 12 |
| Estimated living today | 870 | 3,300 |
| Median age today | 53 | 31 |
| Peak year | 1963 | 1993 |
| Best rank | 1,238th boys | 1,472nd boys |
| Rank in 2025 | unranked | 12,008th |
| First recorded | 1912 | 1917 |
| Girls / boys | 57 / 1,422 | 1,669 / 1,903 |
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 Parnells alive today are over 53; half the Parrises are over 31. That is 22 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Parnell and Parris.