Head to head · Girls' names
Arlette vs Solana
#494 vs #495 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Arlette is a whisker ahead (#494 vs #495 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. 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, Arlette leads 5 measures of 6; Solana 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: Arlette #2948, Solana — — Arlette higher
- 1920s: Arlette #1848, Solana — — Arlette higher
- 1930s: Arlette #1676, Solana — — Arlette higher
- 1940s: Arlette #1629, Solana — — Arlette higher
- 1950s: Arlette #1714, Solana — — Arlette higher
- 1960s: Arlette #1925, Solana — — Arlette higher
- 1970s: Arlette #3747, Solana #6221 — Arlette higher
- 1980s: Arlette #3890, Solana #6090 — Arlette higher
- 1990s: Arlette #3064, Solana #4711 — Arlette higher
- 2000s: Arlette #1535, Solana #2787 — Arlette higher
- 2010s: Arlette #1355, Solana #2921 — Arlette higher
- 2020s: Arlette #776, Solana #1018 — Arlette higher
Arlette stood higher in every recorded decade — 12 of 12.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Arlette | Solana |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #2948 | — |
| 1920s | #1848 | — |
| 1930s | #1676 | — |
| 1940s | #1629 | — |
| 1950s | #1714 | — |
| 1960s | #1925 | — |
| 1970s | #3747 | #6221 |
| 1980s | #3890 | #6090 |
| 1990s | #3064 | #4711 |
| 2000s | #1535 | #2787 |
| 2010s | #1355 | #2921 |
| 2020s | #776 | #1018 |
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
Arlette
Not established
The -ette part is not in doubt: it is the French diminutive suffix, the same one in Annette and Odette. The base is where scholars part ways — some read the Germanic element erl, 'nobleman', others hari, 'army'. Either way, the name reaches us as an affectionate small form of something older, and no single translation is agreed.
How it traveled
Arlette grew up in French, built the way French built dozens of women's names: an old Germanic stem clipped short and softened with -ette. French and Norman tradition attached the name to Herleva, the woman of Falaise who was the mother of William the Conqueror, which gives the name a medieval anchor even though the form itself belongs to later French.
Solana
Sunny side, sunlit place
From Spanish solana, a sun-exposed slope or sun porch, from Latin solanus 'of the sun', from sol 'sun'.
sol (Latin) → solanus → solana (Spanish) → Solana
How it traveled
Solana begins as a plain noun in Spanish — the face of a hill that gets the sun, as opposed to the umbria, the shaded side. Because farmers and builders cared about that distinction, it became a place name many times over, attached to villages, streets and neighborhoods throughout Spain and later the Spanish-speaking Americas.
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
Arlette
ar-LET
Two syllables, stress on the second, final -e silent — as in Colette. Spanish-speaking families say it much the same way, with a lighter r. Occasionally heard as AR-let in English, with the stress pulled forward.
- Arly — The most common informal short form in English-speaking use.
- Arlie — Same sound, alternative spelling; also used on its own as a given name for boys and girls.
- Ari — Informal, popular with younger speakers; shared with Ariana, Arianna and Aria.
- Letty — Takes the second half instead of the first; a long-standing short form of Letitia too, so it may need explaining.
Solana
so-LAH-nah
Stress falls on the middle syllable in both English and Spanish. The first vowel is short — closer to 'so' than 'soul'.
- Lana — The most natural English short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Sol — Used in Spanish-speaking families; also stands alone as a girl's name in Spanish, particularly in Argentina.
- Sola — Informal clipping used at home; note it is also the Spanish word for 'alone'.
- Ana — Drawn from the end of the name rather than the start; a full given name across Spanish, Portuguese and Slavic languages.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Arlette if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesArlette is 2 syllables to Solana's 3
Choose Solana if you want…
- a name on the way upup 1,139 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itSolana runs 3 syllables, Arlette 2
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
Arlette
Strengths
- Fits a spelling pattern Americans already read correctly: Colette, Juliette, Yvette. Most people get it right on the first attempt.
- Works in French, Spanish and Portuguese with barely a change, which matters in a bilingual family.
- Has ready-made short forms at both ends — Arly at the front, Letty at the back — without needing to be invented.
To consider
- It sits very close to Arlene, Arletta and Arlet, and gets mixed up with all three. Expect to spell it out — one l, two t's — over the phone for life.
- Currently gaining ground. A child named Arlette now will likely meet more Arlettes as she grows up than the present figures suggest.
- The -ette suffix was at its most fashionable in an earlier era of French names, so to some ears Arlette reads retro rather than new. That cuts both ways: it is also why it sounds settled rather than made-up.
Solana
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds in both English and Spanish; no silent letters and no competing pronunciations to correct.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Lana, Sol, Ana — each of which is already an established name on its own.
- A transparent meaning in a living language: any Spanish speaker reads 'sunny side' straight off the page.
To consider
- Since 2020 Solana has also been the name of a large cryptocurrency, which currently dominates search results. That association is recent and may fade, but for now it is the first thing many adults will think of.
- Solange, Solene, Salana and Solina all circle nearby, so expect the occasional mishearing over the phone and a spelling repeated on forms.
- A child with this name will very likely be the only one in the school, which cuts both ways: no shared name, but also a lifetime of brief explanations.
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 Arlette and Solana 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 Arlette and Solana?
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.
Arlette or Solana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Arlette or Solana?
- Arlette, in 2025: Arlette ranked #494 with 600 babies; Solana ranked #495 with 599 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Arlette or Solana?
- Solana. Over the last five years Arlette moved up 557 places; Solana moved up 1,139 places.
- Which is the older name, Arlette or Solana?
- Arlette entered the US charts in 1913; Solana entered the US charts in 1976. On the American record, Arlette is the older name.
- How many people are named Arlette and Solana?
- About 7,400 people named Arlette are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 3,400 people named Solana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Arlettes or Solanas in the classroom?
- Arlette will almost certainly be the only one in school. Solana 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 Arlette, Solana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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