Head to head · Boys' names
Apollo vs Uriel
#445 vs #445 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Apollo and Uriel share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#445). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
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, Uriel leads 4 measures of 6; Apollo leads 0.
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
- 1910s: Apollo —, Uriel #3065 — Uriel higher
- 1920s: Apollo —, Uriel #3039 — Uriel higher
- 1930s: Apollo —, Uriel #3257 — Uriel higher
- 1940s: Apollo —, Uriel #3207 — Uriel higher
- 1950s: Apollo —, Uriel #3019 — Uriel higher
- 1960s: Apollo #2877, Uriel #2347 — Uriel higher
- 1970s: Apollo #3291, Uriel #1672 — Uriel higher
- 1980s: Apollo #2255, Uriel #978 — Uriel higher
- 1990s: Apollo #4680, Uriel #564 — Uriel higher
- 2000s: Apollo #2819, Uriel #426 — Uriel higher
- 2010s: Apollo #808, Uriel #492 — Uriel higher
- 2020s: Apollo #421, Uriel #476 — Apollo higher
Uriel stood higher in 11 of 12 decades; Apollo took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Apollo | Uriel |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #3065 |
| 1920s | — | #3039 |
| 1930s | — | #3257 |
| 1940s | — | #3207 |
| 1950s | — | #3019 |
| 1960s | #2877 | #2347 |
| 1970s | #3291 | #1672 |
| 1980s | #2255 | #978 |
| 1990s | #4680 | #564 |
| 2000s | #2819 | #426 |
| 2010s | #808 | #492 |
| 2020s | #421 | #476 |
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
Apollo
Not established — the god's name resists translation
Ancient Greek writers linked Apollōn to apollymi, 'to destroy', and others to apella, an 'assembly' or fold, giving a reading like 'he of the assembly'. Modern scholars generally treat both as later guesses and suspect a pre-Greek or Anatolian source. What is certain is what the name meant to the people who used it: the god of light, music, prophecy, archery and healing.
Apollōn → Apollo → Apollonius → Apollonia → Apollinaris
How it traveled
The name belongs first to Ἀπόλλων (Apollōn), one of the twelve Olympian gods, worshipped at Delphi and Delos long before the classical era. Rome took him over almost unchanged as Apollo, and from there the name spread through European art and learning rather than through baptismal registers — for many centuries Christians used the derived forms, Apollonia and Apollinaris, rather than the god's own name.
Uriel
God is my light
From Hebrew ʼur, "light" or "flame", joined to El, "God" — the same divine element that closes Michael, Gabriel and Daniel.
Uriʼel (Hebrew) → Ouriēl (Greek) → Uriel (Latin) → Uriel
How it traveled
Uriel is Hebrew, and it appears in the Hebrew Bible as the name of ordinary men — a Levite in the book of Chronicles among them. Its wider fame came from Jewish writings outside the canon: in 1 Enoch and in 2 Esdras, Uriel is named as one of the archangels, and that identification carried the name through Greek and Latin texts into Christian and later esoteric tradition.
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
Apollo
uh-POL-oh
Stress on the middle syllable. The Greek and French form Apollon puts the stress at the end, and Spanish Apolo drops one 'l' — all easily recognized as the same name.
- Apo — Informal, family-level shortening; no long tradition behind it, since the name itself has only recently come into everyday use.
- Polo — Informal; also stands alone as a given name and surname in Italian and Spanish.
- Lo — Very informal, used mostly by siblings and close friends.
- Ollie — Informal; more usually a short form of Oliver, so it may need explaining.
Uriel
YOOR-ee-el
English speakers also say OO-ree-el. In Spanish the stress falls on the last syllable: oo-ree-EL. All three are correct in their own settings, so it helps to decide early which one your family will use.
- Uri — The standard short form, and a given name in its own right in Hebrew-speaking families.
- Riel — Used informally, more often where the name is pronounced with the stress on the final syllable.
- Uriel — Frequently used in full — three syllables is short enough that many bearers never shorten it at all.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Apollo if you want…
- a name holding steadyApollo is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itApollo runs 3 syllables, Uriel 2
Choose Uriel if you want…
- a name on the way upup 20 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesUriel is 2 syllables to Apollo's 3
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
Apollo
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, and already known worldwide from mythology and the moon missions — rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- Nearly unchanged across Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French and Russian, so it travels without becoming a different name.
- A written record stretching back to archaic Greece, which makes it very old and very new at the same time.
To consider
- It is the name of a god, and a famous one. Expect comments, mythology jokes and the occasional raised eyebrow; some people find a name that large a pleasure, others find it a lot to introduce yourself with.
- In Spanish, pollo means chicken, and Polo or 'pollo' is an obvious playground shortening — worth knowing, especially in the states where the name is most used.
- Its wave is very recent, so almost everyone who carries it is a child. There is no adult version of this name in most people's experience yet; that arrives as this generation grows up.
Uriel
Strengths
- A meaning that is settled rather than debated, and one parents can state in four words: God is my light.
- Works unchanged in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French — useful in a bilingual family or an extended one.
- Shares its ending with Gabriel, Daniel and Michael, so the shape is instantly readable to people who have never seen it before.
To consider
- Two live pronunciations, English and Spanish, means a lifetime of small corrections — or of answering to both. Neither is wrong, which is the awkward part.
- It sits close to Ariel and Uriah in sound and in print, and gets misheard as both. Uriah in particular carries its own baggage from Dickens.
- The archangel association is stronger than with most -el names, since Uriel is chiefly known from angel writings rather than from a biblical narrative. Some families welcome that; others would rather the name arrive without it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Apollo and Uriel 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 Apollo and Uriel?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Hero and god names for boys
- Greek names with ancient roots
- Percy Jackson names on the charts
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- all guides
Where Apollo and Uriel each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Apollo or Uriel — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Apollo or Uriel?
- They tie in 2025: Apollo ranked #445 with 708 babies; Uriel ranked #445 with 708 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Apollo or Uriel?
- Uriel. Over the last five years Apollo moved up 3 places; Uriel moved up 20 places.
- Which is the older name, Apollo or Uriel?
- Apollo entered the US charts in 1965; Uriel entered the US charts in 1913. On the American record, Uriel is the older name.
- How many people are named Apollo and Uriel?
- About 8,900 people named Apollo are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 20,500 people named Uriel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Apollos or Uriels in the classroom?
- Apollo will almost certainly be the only one in school. Uriel 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
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