Head to head · Boys' names
Andrew vs Silas
#73 vs #71 in 2025
Silas is a whisker ahead (#71 vs #73 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Silas is climbing the charts fast, Andrew is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Silas leads 3 measures of 6; Andrew leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Andrew #28, Silas #173 — Andrew higher
- 1890s: Andrew #36, Silas #215 — Andrew higher
- 1900s: Andrew #40, Silas #281 — Andrew higher
- 1910s: Andrew #45, Silas #375 — Andrew higher
- 1920s: Andrew #55, Silas #425 — Andrew higher
- 1930s: Andrew #76, Silas #473 — Andrew higher
- 1940s: Andrew #81, Silas #560 — Andrew higher
- 1950s: Andrew #63, Silas #709 — Andrew higher
- 1960s: Andrew #41, Silas #870 — Andrew higher
- 1970s: Andrew #27, Silas #867 — Andrew higher
- 1980s: Andrew #12, Silas #841 — Andrew higher
- 1990s: Andrew #8, Silas #787 — Andrew higher
- 2000s: Andrew #8, Silas #415 — Andrew higher
- 2010s: Andrew #29, Silas #140 — Andrew higher
- 2020s: Andrew #63, Silas #85 — Andrew higher
Andrew stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Andrew | Silas |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #28 | #173 |
| 1890s | #36 | #215 |
| 1900s | #40 | #281 |
| 1910s | #45 | #375 |
| 1920s | #55 | #425 |
| 1930s | #76 | #473 |
| 1940s | #81 | #560 |
| 1950s | #63 | #709 |
| 1960s | #41 | #870 |
| 1970s | #27 | #867 |
| 1980s | #12 | #841 |
| 1990s | #8 | #787 |
| 2000s | #8 | #415 |
| 2010s | #29 | #140 |
| 2020s | #63 | #85 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Andrew
manly, brave
From the Greek andreios, manly or courageous, built on aner, a man, in the stem form andros. The same root gives English android and misandry, and it is one of the most productive words in Greek naming.
andreios → Andreas → Andrew
How it traveled
Andrew was the first of the disciples called, according to John's Gospel, and the traditions about him send him east and north — to Greece, where he is said to have been martyred on a diagonal cross, and to the Black Sea. That diagonal cross became the saltire, which is why it is on the flags of Scotland, of Russia's navy, and inside the Union Jack.
Silas
Either "of the forest" or "asked for" — the two readings compete
One line treats Silas as a Greek shortening of the Latin Silvanus, from silva, "wood, forest" — and the New Testament itself supports the link, since the letters of Paul call the same traveling companion Silvanus. The other treats it as a Greek spelling of the Aramaic Sheila, from Hebrew Sha'ul, "asked for, prayed for" — the name English renders as Saul. Both are serious scholarly positions, and neither has won.
Silvanus → Σιλᾶς (Silas) → Silas
How it traveled
The name is first documented in Greek, in the Acts of the Apostles, borne by a companion of Paul on his journeys through the eastern Mediterranean. From the Greek scriptures it passed into Latin and then into English, where Protestant and especially Puritan families favored biblical names outside the usual Peter-and-John range.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Andrew
AN-droo
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Italian Andrea is a man's name said an-DRAY-ah, which regularly confuses English speakers who read it as a woman's name; the two are the same name in different languages.
- Andy — The standard short form, warm and long established; fully unisex in American use and shared with Andrea.
- Drew — Taken from the back of the name rather than the front, which is unusual; it is now a standing given name of its own and reads as considerably more modern than Andy.
- Dre — A shorter clipping from the middle, current in American use and completely detached in sound from the full name.
Silas
SY-luhs
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with "pilus". German and Scandinavian speakers say SEE-lahs, which is worth knowing if the family spans both.
- Si — The traditional English short form, in informal use for centuries; rare as a given name on its own.
- Sy — The same short form spelled phonetically; also stands alone as a given name, mostly among older generations.
Who has carried each name
Andrew
Andrew Carnegie (b. 1835) — Steel titan who gave away his fortune building 2,500 libraries
Andrew Garfield (b. 1983) — Spider-Man and Hacksaw Ridge star
Andrew Jackson (b. 1767) — The president on the $20 bill
Silas
No documented entry for Silas yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Andrew if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsAndrew is stepping back from its peak
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 52% for Silas
Choose Silas if you want…
- a name on the way upup 29 places on the charts in five years
- a name that feels very nowSilas is climbing the charts fast
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Andrew
Strengths
- It has been in continuous use in English for the better part of a thousand years and has never sounded dated.
- Andy and Drew are both fully established and belong to different generations, so a boy has real range.
- Every European language has a form of it, which makes it unusually portable.
To consider
- It reached the very top of the American list within living memory, so a man of a certain age will have shared classrooms with several.
- Andrew and Andrea are the same name in Italy and different names here, which causes confusion abroad.
- Nearly every child given this spelling is a boy; the girls in the record are few enough that no form will expect one.
Silas
Strengths
- A spelling most English speakers already know from scripture and from Eliot's novel, so it rarely needs to be spelled out loud.
- Documented continuously in English since the Puritan era — a long record rather than a recent coinage.
- Identical in spelling across Spanish, Portuguese, French and German, needing no adaptation abroad.
To consider
- It is climbing quickly. A child named Silas now may share classrooms with others later, even though that is unlikely today.
- The meaning is genuinely unsettled between "forest" and "asked for", so you cannot promise a relative one clean answer.
- Sylas and Silus turn up as variant spellings, and some listeners first hear Cyrus, so expect an occasional correction.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Andrew
12%chance Andrew feels dated by 2040
Andrew has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Silas
52%chance Silas feels dated by 2040
Silas is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Andrew and Silas in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Andrew and Silas?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Andrew and Silas — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Andrew or Silas — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Andrew or Silas?
- Silas, in 2025: Silas ranked #71 with 4,639 babies; Andrew ranked #73 with 4,497 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Andrew or Silas?
- Silas. Over the last five years Andrew moved down 21 places; Silas moved up 29 places.
- Which is the older name, Andrew or Silas?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Andrew and Silas?
- About 1,138,000 people named Andrew are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 67,000 people named Silas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Andrews or Silass in the classroom?
- Andrew will almost certainly be the only one in school. Silas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Andrew, Silas and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap