Head to head · Girls' names
Goldie vs Selene
#621 vs #621 in 2025
Goldie and Selene share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#621). The records cannot split them; sound and story 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, Goldie leads 3 measures of 6; Selene 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: Goldie #196, Selene — — Goldie higher
- 1890s: Goldie #129, Selene — — Goldie higher
- 1900s: Goldie #124, Selene — — Goldie higher
- 1910s: Goldie #168, Selene #4814 — Goldie higher
- 1920s: Goldie #232, Selene #4420 — Goldie higher
- 1930s: Goldie #344, Selene #3875 — Goldie higher
- 1940s: Goldie #567, Selene #3585 — Goldie higher
- 1950s: Goldie #855, Selene #3036 — Goldie higher
- 1960s: Goldie #1516, Selene #2087 — Goldie higher
- 1970s: Goldie #1768, Selene #1922 — Goldie higher
- 1980s: Goldie #2234, Selene #2243 — Goldie higher
- 1990s: Goldie #3337, Selene #1156 — Selene higher
- 2000s: Goldie #4524, Selene #1351 — Selene higher
- 2010s: Goldie #2615, Selene #1107 — Selene higher
- 2020s: Goldie #778, Selene #703 — Selene higher
Goldie stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Selene has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Goldie | Selene |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #196 | — |
| 1890s | #129 | — |
| 1900s | #124 | — |
| 1910s | #168 | #4814 |
| 1920s | #232 | #4420 |
| 1930s | #344 | #3875 |
| 1940s | #567 | #3585 |
| 1950s | #855 | #3036 |
| 1960s | #1516 | #2087 |
| 1970s | #1768 | #1922 |
| 1980s | #2234 | #2243 |
| 1990s | #3337 | #1156 |
| 2000s | #4524 | #1351 |
| 2010s | #2615 | #1107 |
| 2020s | #778 | #703 |
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
Goldie
Gold, golden
The name comes straight from the English word, and the Yiddish Golde behind it means the same thing. It began as an affectionate term for golden hair before it settled into a name in its own right.
Golt (Middle High German, 'gold') → Golde (Yiddish) → Golda → Goldie
How it traveled
Goldie grew out of the English word gold, first as a nickname for the fair-haired and then as a given name proper, in the era when Ruby, Pearl and Opal were also being written on birth certificates. At the same time it did double duty as the English form of the Yiddish Golde — a name long used among Ashkenazi Jewish families in Central and Eastern Europe, and one that traveled with them to New York and beyond.
Selene
Moon
Greek selēnē is simply the ordinary word for the moon; it is connected to selas, 'light, brightness'.
Σελήνη (Selēnē) → Selene → Selena → Selina
How it traveled
Selene comes straight from Greek σελήνη, the everyday word for the moon, which also served as the name of the Titan goddess of the moon — sister of Helios the sun and Eos the dawn in Hesiod's account of the older gods. Latin writers borrowed the name unchanged, and it traveled with classical learning into the modern languages of Europe, where the related forms Selena and Selina took hold alongside it.
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
Goldie
GOHL-dee
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly like the word gold with an -ee added. No regional variation to speak of in English.
- Goldie — Already a diminutive form, and used as the full given name on official documents as often as anything else.
- Golda — The longer, more formal counterpart; some families register Golda and use Goldie every day.
- Goldy — An informal respelling, mostly seen in writing rather than heard.
- Gee — A casual family shortening, used within households rather than in public.
Selene
suh-LEEN
Two pronunciations are both in real use: the anglicized two-syllable suh-LEEN, and the classical three-syllable seh-LEE-nee, closer to the Greek. Spanish speakers generally say seh-LEH-neh. Expect to state your preference more than once.
- Lena — The most portable short form, and a long-established given name in its own right across English, German and Scandinavian use.
- Sel — Informal, family-and-friends level; almost never written on anything official.
- Sele — Heard in Spanish-speaking families, where the vowels of the full name stay closer to the surface.
- Selly — Affectionate and mostly used with young children.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Goldie if you want…
- a name on the way upup 402 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordGoldie was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 51% for Selene
Choose Selene if you want…
- a newer arrivalSelene entered the US charts in 1919
- a name that feels very nowSelene 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
Goldie
Strengths
- Spelled the way an English speaker already spells gold — almost never misheard, almost never misspelled once heard.
- Continuously present in American records since the earliest ones, so it has a long unbroken history rather than a sudden arrival.
- Works as both the full name and the everyday name, so no nickname is required unless you want one.
To consider
- Goldie is a very common name for dogs, cats and goldfish, and a child will probably meet that at some point. It passes, but it is worth knowing before you commit.
- The golden-hair origin is close enough to the surface that people may comment on it, whatever color your child's hair turns out to be.
- Most people carrying this name today belong to much older generations, so it may read as a great-grandmother's name to some ears — that is precisely what makes it available again now.
Selene
Strengths
- The meaning is settled and easy to explain in one word — moon — which is rarer than parents expect.
- Spelled the same in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, so it crosses borders without adjustment.
- An unbroken presence in American records for more than a century, so it is familiar without being common.
To consider
- The two-syllable and three-syllable pronunciations both have real currency, so she will spend some of her life correcting people — or, more likely, answering to both.
- Selena, Selina and Céline are close enough that mail and roll calls will sometimes land on the wrong one. Céline is actually a separate name from a Latin root, but few people know that.
- It is climbing rather than fading, so it may be noticeably more familiar by the time she reaches school than it is now — still far from crowded, but less of a solo act than the record suggests.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Goldie
30%chance Goldie feels dated by 2040
Goldie is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Selene
51%chance Selene feels dated by 2040
Selene 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 Goldie and Selene 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 Goldie and Selene?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Goldie and Selene — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Goldie or Selene — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Goldie or Selene?
- They tie in 2025: Goldie ranked #621 with 469 babies; Selene ranked #621 with 469 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Goldie or Selene?
- Goldie. Over the last five years Goldie moved up 402 places; Selene moved up 182 places.
- Which is the older name, Goldie or Selene?
- Goldie was already in use when US records began in 1880; Selene entered the US charts in 1919. On the American record, Goldie is the older name.
- How many people are named Goldie and Selene?
- About 8,700 people named Goldie are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 9,500 people named Selene are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Goldies or Selenes in the classroom?
- Goldie will almost certainly be the only one in school. Selene 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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