Head to head · Boys' names
Boone vs Solomon
#423 vs #422 in 2025
Solomon is a whisker ahead (#422 vs #423 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Solomon is holding its place on the charts, Boone is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Boone 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, Solomon leads 5 measures of 6; Boone 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: Boone #974, Solomon #239 — Solomon higher
- 1890s: Boone —, Solomon #274 — Solomon higher
- 1900s: Boone #1130, Solomon #266 — Solomon higher
- 1910s: Boone #2490, Solomon #263 — Solomon higher
- 1920s: Boone #3100, Solomon #359 — Solomon higher
- 1930s: Boone #3113, Solomon #469 — Solomon higher
- 1940s: Boone #3002, Solomon #515 — Solomon higher
- 1950s: Boone #3204, Solomon #585 — Solomon higher
- 1960s: Boone #3842, Solomon #677 — Solomon higher
- 1970s: Boone #3317, Solomon #612 — Solomon higher
- 1980s: Boone #2531, Solomon #572 — Solomon higher
- 1990s: Boone #2640, Solomon #570 — Solomon higher
- 2000s: Boone #2438, Solomon #459 — Solomon higher
- 2010s: Boone #1065, Solomon #405 — Solomon higher
- 2020s: Boone #552, Solomon #422 — Solomon higher
Solomon stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Boone | Solomon |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #974 | #239 |
| 1890s | — | #274 |
| 1900s | #1130 | #266 |
| 1910s | #2490 | #263 |
| 1920s | #3100 | #359 |
| 1930s | #3113 | #469 |
| 1940s | #3002 | #515 |
| 1950s | #3204 | #585 |
| 1960s | #3842 | #677 |
| 1970s | #3317 | #612 |
| 1980s | #2531 | #572 |
| 1990s | #2640 | #570 |
| 2000s | #2438 | #459 |
| 2010s | #1065 | #405 |
| 2020s | #552 | #422 |
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
Boone
either "good" or "from Bohon"
Surname scholars give two roads. One traces Boone to Anglo-Norman and Old French bon, "good" — a nickname surname, sibling to the spellings Bone and Boon. The other traces it to Bohon in Normandy, a place name that entered England after the Conquest and produced the powerful medieval family de Bohun. Both are respectable; neither has won.
bon (Old French, "good") → Bone → Boon → Boone
How it traveled
Boone begins as a family name in England, arriving in one of the two ways surnames usually do — from a word applied to a person, or from a place left behind in Normandy. It crossed the Atlantic with English settlers and became attached, permanently, to the American backcountry: Daniel Boone, the eighteenth-century Kentucky frontiersman, put the name on forests, rivers and county courthouses across the middle of the country.
Solomon
Peace
From the Hebrew root shalom, 'peace'. The Hebrew form is Shlomo.
Shlomo → Solomōn → Salomon → Solomon
How it traveled
The name belongs first to the Hebrew Bible, where Shlomo — son of David and Bathsheba — reigns over Israel and builds the Temple in Jerusalem. Greek translators of the Hebrew scriptures rendered it Solomōn, Latin made it Salomon, and that is the shape that reached English.
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
Boone
BOON
One syllable, rhyming with moon. The doubled o and silent e cause no trouble — English readers get it right on sight, and it survives the phone and the loudspeaker intact.
- Bo — The usual clipping, and a well-established given name in its own right in the US.
- Boonie — Affectionate and household-only; rarely survives into adulthood.
Solomon
SOL-uh-muhn
Stress on the first syllable. The middle vowel is a light, unstressed 'uh' — in quick speech it can nearly vanish.
- Sol — The standard short form in English, and used on its own as a given name too.
- Solly — Informal and affectionate; long established in Jewish families and in British use.
- Sal — Informal; shared with Salvatore and Sally, so it rarely points back to Solomon on its own.
- Mo — Informal, drawn from the last syllable rather than the first; occasional rather than standard.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Boone if you want…
- a name on the way upup 158 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesBoone is 1 syllable to Solomon's 3
- a newer arrivalBoone entered the US charts in 1889
Choose Solomon if you want…
- a name holding steadySolomon is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itSolomon runs 3 syllables, Boone 1
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Sol, Solly and Sal
- a long American recordSolomon 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
Boone
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, and already familiar to Americans from towns, counties and a national forest — almost nobody asks how to write it.
- One syllable and one clear vowel: easy to call across a yard, hard to mishear.
- A documented surname line reaching back to medieval England and Normandy, so it is old even though its use as a first name is new.
To consider
- Boone's Farm, the inexpensive flavored wine, is a real association for American adults of a certain age. It fades quickly once there is a child attached to the name, but it is worth knowing about.
- The Daniel Boone connection carries the frontier with it — appealing to some families, and for others tangled up with the westward displacement of Native nations. Either way, the association is strong and will follow the name.
- One syllable gives you little to shorten. Bo is the only short form in real use, so a long or ceremonial version of the name is not on offer.
Solomon
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, and familiar enough in English that most people write it correctly on the first try.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Sol, Solly — so it works at both formal and casual length.
- Recognizable across Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, French and Amharic-speaking communities in closely related forms.
To consider
- The biblical king is the reference almost everyone reaches for, and 'the wisdom of Solomon' is a fixed English phrase. The name arrives with that association attached, which some families want and others would rather not hand over.
- It is an unmistakably Old Testament name, and reads as such regardless of a family's own background.
- Three syllables plus a surname makes a mouthful for daily use, so in practice expect Sol to do a lot of the work.
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 Boone and Solomon 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 Boone and Solomon?
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 head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Western names with dust on their boots
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- Biblical names, from Noah to Naomi
- Founding-era American names
- all guides
Where Boone and Solomon each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Boone or Solomon — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Boone or Solomon?
- Solomon, in 2025: Solomon ranked #422 with 767 babies; Boone ranked #423 with 762 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Boone or Solomon?
- Boone. Over the last five years Boone moved up 158 places; Solomon moved down 20 places.
- Which is the older name, Boone or Solomon?
- Boone entered the US charts in 1889; Solomon was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Solomon is the older name.
- How many people are named Boone and Solomon?
- About 6,600 people named Boone are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 28,000 people named Solomon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Boones or Solomons in the classroom?
- Boone will almost certainly be the only one in school. Solomon 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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