Head to head · Girls' names
Charli vs Solana
#496 vs #495 in 2025
Solana is a whisker ahead (#495 vs #496 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Solana is climbing the charts fast, Charli is stepping back from its peak.
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
The tape is even: Charli and Solana each lead 3 measures of 6.
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
- 1970s: Charli #4816, Solana #6221 — Charli higher
- 1980s: Charli #2473, Solana #6090 — Charli higher
- 1990s: Charli #2078, Solana #4711 — Charli higher
- 2000s: Charli #1594, Solana #2787 — Charli higher
- 2010s: Charli #645, Solana #2921 — Charli higher
- 2020s: Charli #444, Solana #1018 — Charli higher
Charli stood higher in every recorded decade — 6 of 6.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Charli | Solana |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | #4816 | #6221 |
| 1980s | #2473 | #6090 |
| 1990s | #2078 | #4711 |
| 2000s | #1594 | #2787 |
| 2010s | #645 | #2921 |
| 2020s | #444 | #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
Charli
free man
The root is the Germanic word karl, 'free man' — the same element behind Charles and its French feminine diminutive Charlotte. Charli is a spelling of the short form Charlie, so it inherits that meaning rather than carrying one of its own.
Karl → Charles → Charlotte → Charlie → Charli
How it traveled
Charles descends from Germanic Karl, borne by Frankish and later European rulers, and it traveled into English through French. Charlotte was formed in French as a feminine diminutive of Charles and became widely used in England from the eighteenth century onward.
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
Charli
SHAR-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Identical in sound to Charlie, so the pronunciation never needs teaching — only the spelling does.
- Char — The usual informal clip; used at home and among friends rather than on paper.
- Charlie — The fuller traditional spelling, often used interchangeably in speech and in writing by people who do not know the -i form.
- Lottie — Belongs properly to Charlotte, but sometimes borrowed by families who treat Charli as its short form.
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 Charli if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsCharli is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesCharli is 2 syllables to Solana's 3
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 62% for Solana
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, Charli 2
- a name that feels very nowSolana is climbing the charts fast
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
Charli
Strengths
- Already short: no nickname is required, and the name works unchanged from a nursery door to a signature.
- Sounds completely familiar even to people who have never seen this spelling, because it is pronounced exactly like Charlie.
- Sits inside a documented family — Karl, Charles, Charlotte, Charlie — so it carries centuries of use behind a modern spelling.
To consider
- The spelling will need correcting for life. Charlie, Charley, Charlee and Charly are all in circulation, and most people default to Charlie when they hear it.
- Because Charlie is the standard short form of Charles, the name is read as a boy's name by some people. It is recorded for girls in the US, but expect the occasional wrong assumption on a list or an envelope.
- On formal documents it can read as a nickname promoted to full name — which is exactly what it is. Some families register Charlotte and use Charli every day; others simply keep Charli and never mind.
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.
How each is likely to age
Charli
40%chance Charli feels dated by 2040
Charli sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Solana
62%chance Solana feels dated by 2040
Solana 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.
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 Charli 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 Charli 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.
Charli or Solana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Charli or Solana?
- Solana, in 2025: Solana ranked #495 with 599 babies; Charli ranked #496 with 597 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Charli or Solana?
- Solana. Over the last five years Charli moved down 77 places; Solana moved up 1,139 places.
- Which is the older name, Charli or Solana?
- Charli entered the US charts in 1975; Solana entered the US charts in 1976. On the American record, Charli is the older name.
- How many people are named Charli and Solana?
- About 11,500 people named Charli 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 Charlis or Solanas in the classroom?
- Charli 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
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