Head to head · Boys' names
Ariel vs Saul
#558 vs #557 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Saul is a whisker ahead (#557 vs #558 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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, Saul leads 6 measures of 6; Ariel 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
- 1880s: Ariel —, Saul #567 — Saul higher
- 1890s: Ariel —, Saul #632 — Saul higher
- 1900s: Ariel —, Saul #478 — Saul higher
- 1910s: Ariel #2863, Saul #371 — Saul higher
- 1920s: Ariel #2799, Saul #427 — Saul higher
- 1930s: Ariel #2672, Saul #521 — Saul higher
- 1940s: Ariel #2887, Saul #648 — Saul higher
- 1950s: Ariel #2484, Saul #658 — Saul higher
- 1960s: Ariel #1248, Saul #628 — Saul higher
- 1970s: Ariel #702, Saul #492 — Saul higher
- 1980s: Ariel #510, Saul #423 — Saul higher
- 1990s: Ariel #468, Saul #350 — Saul higher
- 2000s: Ariel #537, Saul #302 — Saul higher
- 2010s: Ariel #622, Saul #465 — Saul higher
- 2020s: Ariel #547, Saul #555 — Ariel higher
Saul stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Ariel took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Ariel | Saul |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #567 |
| 1890s | — | #632 |
| 1900s | — | #478 |
| 1910s | #2863 | #371 |
| 1920s | #2799 | #427 |
| 1930s | #2672 | #521 |
| 1940s | #2887 | #648 |
| 1950s | #2484 | #658 |
| 1960s | #1248 | #628 |
| 1970s | #702 | #492 |
| 1980s | #510 | #423 |
| 1990s | #468 | #350 |
| 2000s | #537 | #302 |
| 2010s | #622 | #465 |
| 2020s | #547 | #555 |
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
Ariel
Lion of God (Hebrew)
In the Book of Isaiah the same word is used as a title for Jerusalem, and elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the hearth of an altar — so the name carries a place and an object alongside the lion.
Arî'el (Hebrew) → Ariēl (Greek, Septuagint) → Ariel (English) → Arielle / Ariella (elaborated feminine forms)
How it traveled
Ariel is Hebrew, אֲרִיאֵל, built from the words for lion and for God, and it appears in the Hebrew Bible both as a man's name in the Book of Ezra and as a name for the city of Jerusalem in Isaiah. English took it up through scripture and then through literature: Shakespeare gave the name to the spirit of the air in The Tempest in the early seventeenth century, and Alexander Pope gave it to a sylph in The Rape of the Lock a century later.
Saul
asked for, prayed for
From Hebrew Sha'ul, the passive participle of the verb sha'al, "to ask" — literally "asked for" or "requested".
Sha'ul → Saoul (Greek) → Saul (Latin) → Saul / Saúl
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, Sha'ul, and its most famous bearer in the Hebrew Bible is Saul, the first king of Israel. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, the name became Saoul, and from Greek into Latin it settled into the Saul that English still uses.
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
Ariel
AIR-ee-ul
AIR-ee-ul is the usual American pronunciation; AR-ee-ul (rhyming the first part with "far") is also heard. In Hebrew and in Spanish the stress falls at the end: ah-ree-EL. Expect to state your preference more than once.
- Ari — By far the most used short form, for boys and girls alike, and a registered given name in its own right in the US and Israel.
- Arie — An alternate spelling of the same short form; informal, and easily confused in writing with the unrelated name Arie.
- Riel — Uncommon, drawn from the back of the name rather than the front; informal family use.
- Ri — A very short informal clip, mostly within families.
Saul
SAWL
One syllable in English, rhyming with "all". The Spanish Saúl is two syllables, sah-OOL, with the stress on the second — worth deciding early which one your family will use, since both are correct for their own language.
- Sal — Occasional informal short form; more often stands alone as a nickname for Salvador or Salvatore, so it may need explaining.
- Sauly — Family-level affectionate form, mostly used with young children.
- Chaúl — Playful Spanish-language pet form heard in some Latin American families; not a written name.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Ariel if you want…
- a name holding steadyAriel is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itAriel runs 3 syllables, Saul 1
- a newer arrivalAriel entered the US charts in 1913
Choose Saul if you want…
- a name on the way upup 18 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesSaul is 1 syllable to Ariel's 3
- a long American recordSaul was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Ariel
Strengths
- One short form, Ari, works for a child of either sex and stands on its own as a full name — useful for someone who later wants something briefer.
- A documented record going back to the Hebrew Bible, with stops in Shakespeare, eighteenth-century English poetry and modern Israel.
- Recognized in Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French and English without respelling, which travels well across families and borders.
To consider
- The Disney mermaid is the first association for many Americans, and a child may field the question or the song for years. It fades with each new generation of films, but it is real now.
- Because the name goes to boys and girls, and leans one way in English and the other in Hebrew and Spanish, forms and paperwork will occasionally guess wrong. This lands hardest on a boy named Ariel in the US.
- Two pronunciations circulate in American English, AIR-ee-ul and AR-ee-ul, plus the end-stressed ah-ree-EL. Nothing here is difficult, but corrections will be part of the routine.
Saul
Strengths
- One syllable, spelled exactly as it sounds in English — rarely misspelled once heard.
- Fully at home in both English and Spanish, which is part of why it is strongest in Texas, California and New York.
- A documented history stretching back to the Hebrew Bible, carried by both a king of Israel and Saul of Tarsus.
To consider
- "Better Call Saul" gave the name a well-known fictional lawyer, and for a while that will be the first association many adults make. It fades as the show ages, but expect the joke at least once.
- The English SAWL and the Spanish sah-OOL are genuinely different pronunciations of the same name. In bilingual families that is a feature; in mixed settings it means gentle correcting.
- The biblical King Saul's story ends badly — he loses favor and his throne. Most people know the name long before they know the narrative, but it is there if anyone looks.
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 Ariel and Saul 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 Ariel and Saul?
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
Where Ariel and Saul each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Ariel or Saul — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Ariel or Saul?
- Saul, in 2025: Saul ranked #557 with 535 babies; Ariel ranked #558 with 533 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Ariel or Saul?
- Saul. Over the last five years Ariel moved up 7 places; Saul moved up 18 places.
- Which is the older name, Ariel or Saul?
- Ariel entered the US charts in 1913; Saul was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Saul is the older name.
- How many people are named Ariel and Saul?
- About 21,000 people named Ariel are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 36,000 people named Saul are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ariels or Sauls in the classroom?
- Ariel will almost certainly be the only one in school. Saul 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 Ariel, Saul and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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