Head to head · Boys' names
Apollo vs Valentino
#445 vs #444 in 2025
Valentino is a whisker ahead (#444 vs #445 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Valentino is climbing the charts fast, Apollo is holding its place on the charts.
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, Valentino leads 5 measures of 6; Apollo leads 1.
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 —, Valentino #1964 — Valentino higher
- 1920s: Apollo —, Valentino #1174 — Valentino higher
- 1930s: Apollo —, Valentino #1492 — Valentino higher
- 1940s: Apollo —, Valentino #1797 — Valentino higher
- 1950s: Apollo —, Valentino #1442 — Valentino higher
- 1960s: Apollo #2877, Valentino #1317 — Valentino higher
- 1970s: Apollo #3291, Valentino #1439 — Valentino higher
- 1980s: Apollo #2255, Valentino #1286 — Valentino higher
- 1990s: Apollo #4680, Valentino #1358 — Valentino higher
- 2000s: Apollo #2819, Valentino #1168 — Valentino higher
- 2010s: Apollo #808, Valentino #715 — Valentino higher
- 2020s: Apollo #421, Valentino #516 — Apollo higher
Valentino stood higher in 11 of 12 decades; Apollo took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Apollo | Valentino |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | — | #1964 |
| 1920s | — | #1174 |
| 1930s | — | #1492 |
| 1940s | — | #1797 |
| 1950s | — | #1442 |
| 1960s | #2877 | #1317 |
| 1970s | #3291 | #1439 |
| 1980s | #2255 | #1286 |
| 1990s | #4680 | #1358 |
| 2000s | #2819 | #1168 |
| 2010s | #808 | #715 |
| 2020s | #421 | #516 |
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.
Valentino
strong, healthy, vigorous
From Latin valens, the present participle of valere, 'to be strong, to be well' — the same root behind English valiant and value.
Valens → Valentinus → Valentin → Valentino
How it traveled
The Latin name Valentinus was formed from valens, and it belonged to Roman soldiers, bishops and, most famously, the martyr venerated as Saint Valentine, whose feast on 14 February was attached to romantic love only much later, in the medieval period. From Valentinus the name divided along the languages of Europe: Valentin in French, Spanish and Russian, Valentine in English, and Valentino in Italian, where the -ino ending is the ordinary Italian outcome of Latin -inus.
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.
Valentino
val-en-TEE-no
Stress on the third syllable. Italian and Spanish speakers open the first vowel — vah-len-TEE-no — and either version is understood without correction.
- Val — The standard English short form; also used for Valerie and Valentina, so it is shared territory.
- Tino — The usual Italian and Spanish clipping, taken from the end rather than the front; stands alone as a given name in both countries.
- Vale — Informal, common among Italian and Spanish speakers; two syllables, VAH-leh.
- Valen — A newer clipping heard mostly in Spanish-speaking families.
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 fewer syllablesApollo is 3 syllables to Valentino's 4
Choose Valentino if you want…
- a name on the way upup 175 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itValentino runs 4 syllables, Apollo 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.
Valentino
Strengths
- Spelled the same way in English, Italian and Spanish, and read correctly in all three without adjustment.
- An unbroken record from Roman Latin through the medieval church to the present day.
- Two established short forms with different characters: Val in English, Tino in Italian and Spanish.
To consider
- The February association is permanent and will draw jokes, cards and comments every year. Most bearers find it wears down to background noise, but it never disappears entirely.
- Val, the natural English shortening, is also the short form of Valerie and Valentina, so it is not distinctive on its own.
- Valentina, the feminine form, is currently far more visible in American nurseries than Valentino, and the two are occasionally confused on paperwork.
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 Valentino 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 Valentino?
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.
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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 these names appear on
- Hero and god names for boys
- Greek names with ancient roots
- Percy Jackson names on the charts
- Four-syllable names that carry
- all guides
Where Apollo and Valentino each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Apollo or Valentino — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Apollo or Valentino?
- Valentino, in 2025: Valentino ranked #444 with 710 babies; Apollo ranked #445 with 708 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Apollo or Valentino?
- Valentino. Over the last five years Apollo moved up 3 places; Valentino moved up 175 places.
- Which is the older name, Apollo or Valentino?
- Apollo entered the US charts in 1965; Valentino entered the US charts in 1910. On the American record, Valentino is the older name.
- How many people are named Apollo and Valentino?
- About 8,900 people named Apollo are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 10,500 people named Valentino are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Apollos or Valentinos in the classroom?
- Apollo will almost certainly be the only one in school. Valentino 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
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