Head to head · Girls' names
Arleth vs Selena
#269 vs #268 in 2025
Selena is a whisker ahead (#268 vs #269 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Selena is holding its place on the charts, Arleth is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Arleth has the edge.
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, Selena leads 5 measures of 6; Arleth 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
- 1880s: Arleth —, Selena #717 — Selena higher
- 1890s: Arleth —, Selena #825 — Selena higher
- 1900s: Arleth —, Selena #878 — Selena higher
- 1910s: Arleth —, Selena #1083 — Selena higher
- 1920s: Arleth —, Selena #1183 — Selena higher
- 1930s: Arleth —, Selena #1300 — Selena higher
- 1940s: Arleth —, Selena #1278 — Selena higher
- 1950s: Arleth —, Selena #1108 — Selena higher
- 1960s: Arleth —, Selena #626 — Selena higher
- 1970s: Arleth —, Selena #437 — Selena higher
- 1980s: Arleth —, Selena #604 — Selena higher
- 1990s: Arleth #8095, Selena #344 — Selena higher
- 2000s: Arleth #1366, Selena #269 — Selena higher
- 2010s: Arleth #1517, Selena #297 — Selena higher
- 2020s: Arleth #680, Selena #238 — Selena higher
Selena stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Arleth | Selena |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #717 |
| 1890s | — | #825 |
| 1900s | — | #878 |
| 1910s | — | #1083 |
| 1920s | — | #1183 |
| 1930s | — | #1300 |
| 1940s | — | #1278 |
| 1950s | — | #1108 |
| 1960s | — | #626 |
| 1970s | — | #437 |
| 1980s | — | #604 |
| 1990s | #8095 | #344 |
| 2000s | #1366 | #269 |
| 2010s | #1517 | #297 |
| 2020s | #680 | #238 |
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
Arleth
Traced through French Arlette to a Germanic name read as containing an element meaning "army"
Arlette is a French diminutive generally connected to the older Norman name Herleva, whose parts have been read as Germanic elements for "army" and "heir" or "legacy" — but that reading is argued rather than agreed, and some treat Arlette simply as an affectionate short form with no recoverable sense of its own. For the spelling Arleth specifically, no separate meaning is documented; what is documented is the family it sits in.
Arlette → Arlet → Arleth
How it traveled
The line behind Arleth runs through Arlette, a French feminine name long associated with Herleva, the eleventh-century Norman woman remembered as the mother of William the Conqueror and called Arlette or Arletta by later chroniclers. Arlette traveled into Spanish and Portuguese as Arlet and Arlete, and in Mexico and Central America it met a strong local habit of ending girls' names in -th — the pattern that also gives Lizeth, Yaneth and Marleth, borrowed from the tail of Elizabeth.
Selena
moon
From Greek selēnē, 'moon', the name of the moon goddess Selene; Selena is the Latinized spelling of that name.
Selēnē (Greek) → Selena (Latin) → Selina → Selena
How it traveled
The oldest layer is Greek: Selene, goddess of the moon, sister of the sun god Helios in the old mythology and the subject of one of the Homeric Hymns. Latin writers wrote her name as Selena, and that Latin spelling is the one that traveled into modern European languages.
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
Arleth
ar-LETH
Stress on the second syllable. In Spanish-speaking families the final -th is usually said as a plain t: ar-LET. English speakers more often give it the th of "with". Both are current, and neither needs correcting.
- Ari — Informal and very common in Spanish- and English-speaking households alike; also stands alone as a given name.
- Arly — Informal short form, sometimes written Arli or Arlee.
- Arlethita — Spanish affectionate diminutive, used within the family rather than in public settings.
Selena
suh-LEE-nuh
English speakers almost always say suh-LEE-nuh. In Spanish the same spelling is seh-LEH-nah, with a clearer first vowel and a shorter stressed one; bilingual families often use both without difficulty.
- Lena — The most common short form, and a long-established given name in its own right across Europe.
- Sel — Informal, clipped from the first syllable; spoken far more often than written.
- Sena — Informal short form drawn from the last two syllables; also used independently in some cultures.
- Leni — Informal, formed from Lena; more common where German or Dutch is spoken.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Arleth if you want…
- a name on the way upup 954 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesArleth is 2 syllables to Selena's 3
- a newer arrivalArleth entered the US charts in 1991
- a name that feels very nowArleth is climbing the charts fast
Choose Selena if you want…
- a name holding steadySelena is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itSelena runs 3 syllables, Arleth 2
- a long American recordSelena was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 25% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 65% for Arleth
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
Arleth
Strengths
- Six letters, two syllables, and spelled as it sounds — easy for a child to write early.
- Works in both Spanish and English with no change of spelling, only a small shift in the final consonant.
- Sits inside a recognized family of -th names, so it looks familiar to many people even on first sight.
To consider
- The competing spellings are the main friction: Arlet, Arlette and Arleth all exist, so she will spell it out fairly often, especially outside communities where the -th ending is already known.
- Two pronunciations circulate — the final th as a t, or as in "with" — and both will be used by different people over her life. Families usually settle on one and let the rest go.
- She is unlikely to meet another Arleth at school. That is a pleasure for some children and a small burden for others, particularly in the years when blending in matters most.
Selena
Strengths
- The meaning is settled and easy to state: moon, straight from the Greek goddess Selene.
- Reads and pronounces cleanly in both English and Spanish, with no respelling needed to cross between them.
- Comes with Lena already attached — a short form that is itself a full name with centuries of use.
To consider
- Selina, Celina and Salina all exist as separate names, so expect to spell it aloud fairly often — and to see it written back the wrong way in email.
- For many people the name is closely tied to a celebrated Tejano singer, and to a well-known American pop performer. That association is affectionate, but it arrives before the child does.
- The English and Spanish pronunciations differ in their vowels. In a bilingual setting that is simply flexibility; in a monolingual one it can mean gently correcting people.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Arleth
65%chance Arleth feels dated by 2040
Arleth 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.
Selena
25%chance Selena feels dated by 2040
Selena peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
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 Arleth and Selena 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 Arleth and Selena?
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
Where Arleth and Selena each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Arleth or Selena — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Arleth or Selena?
- Selena, in 2025: Selena ranked #268 with 1,170 babies; Arleth ranked #269 with 1,156 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Arleth or Selena?
- Arleth. Over the last five years Arleth moved up 954 places; Selena moved down 26 places.
- Which is the older name, Arleth or Selena?
- Arleth entered the US charts in 1991; Selena was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Selena is the older name.
- How many people are named Arleth and Selena?
- About 6,800 people named Arleth are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 57,000 people named Selena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Arleths or Selenas in the classroom?
- Arleth will almost certainly be the only one in school. Selena 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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