Head to head · Girls' names
Jolene vs Marisol
#666 vs #666 in 2025
Jolene and Marisol share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#666). 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, Marisol leads 3 measures of 6; Jolene 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: Jolene #3843, Marisol — — Jolene higher
- 1920s: Jolene #2568, Marisol — — Jolene higher
- 1930s: Jolene #727, Marisol — — Jolene higher
- 1940s: Jolene #497, Marisol — — Jolene higher
- 1950s: Jolene #404, Marisol #3999 — Jolene higher
- 1960s: Jolene #445, Marisol #947 — Jolene higher
- 1970s: Jolene #407, Marisol #361 — Marisol higher
- 1980s: Jolene #457, Marisol #408 — Marisol higher
- 1990s: Jolene #1076, Marisol #362 — Marisol higher
- 2000s: Jolene #1168, Marisol #397 — Marisol higher
- 2010s: Jolene #708, Marisol #816 — Jolene higher
- 2020s: Jolene #538, Marisol #810 — Jolene higher
Jolene stood higher in 8 of 12 decades; Jolene has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Jolene | Marisol |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | #3843 | — |
| 1920s | #2568 | — |
| 1930s | #727 | — |
| 1940s | #497 | — |
| 1950s | #404 | #3999 |
| 1960s | #445 | #947 |
| 1970s | #407 | #361 |
| 1980s | #457 | #408 |
| 1990s | #1076 | #362 |
| 2000s | #1168 | #397 |
| 2010s | #708 | #816 |
| 2020s | #538 | #810 |
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
Jolene
Jo (from Joseph or Josephine) plus the -lene ending shared with Charlene and Darlene
Jolene is a coined name rather than a word, so it has no translation of its own. The Jo- half reaches back through Joseph and Josephine to Hebrew Yosef, 'he will add' — but that meaning belongs to the root, not to Jolene itself.
Yosef → Joseph → Josephine → Jo → Jolene
How it traveled
Jolene belongs to a family of names assembled in English-speaking America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the -lene and -leen endings were attached freely to short existing names: Charlene, Darlene, Arlene, Marlene, Jolene. It was quietly on US birth records long before it became widely recognizable, which is unusual — most names of that pattern arrived and faded within a generation.
Marisol
From María Soledad, 'Mary of Solitude'; also widely read as mar y sol, 'sea and sun'
The documented formation is a contraction of the compound Marian name María Soledad, after Nuestra Señora de la Soledad — Our Lady of Solitude — a devotion strong in Spain and in Mexico. Alongside that, Spanish speakers have long heard the name as mar y sol, 'sea and sun', because both words sit plainly inside it. The first is the origin; the second is a real and living reading rather than a mistake, and most families who use the name know both.
Miryam → María → María Soledad → Marisol
How it traveled
Spanish has a long practice of compressing compound Marian names into single everyday ones: María Isabel becomes Maribel, María del Carmen becomes Maricarmen, and María Soledad becomes Marisol. Soledad honors Our Lady of Solitude, venerated in Spain and, especially, in Mexico, where the devotion has its own basilica in Oaxaca.
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
Jolene
joh-LEEN
Two syllables, stress on the second. The spelling gives the sound away at first sight, in English and in most other languages.
- Jo — The oldest and most natural short form; also stands alone as a given name in its own right, and used across all generations.
- Jojo — Informal, mostly family and childhood use.
- Joey — Informal; used for both boys and girls, so it carries no clue to the full name.
- Leni — Informal, drawn from the second half rather than the first; less common in the US than in German-speaking countries.
Marisol
mah-ree-SOHL
Spanish puts the stress on the last syllable, and that is the pronunciation most bearers use. In English you will also hear MAR-ih-sohl, with the weight up front. Both are in real circulation, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people toward.
- Mari — The most common everyday short form; also used on its own for other María compounds.
- Sol — Takes the second half instead of the first, and stands alone as a Spanish given name.
- Soli — Informal, family-level; drawn from the Soledad half of the name.
- Marisolita — Spanish affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than in public.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Jolene if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsJolene is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesJolene is 2 syllables to Marisol's 3
Choose Marisol if you want…
- a name on the way upup 311 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMarisol runs 3 syllables, Jolene 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
Jolene
Strengths
- Reads correctly on first sight for most English speakers — no spelling lesson required at every introduction.
- Comes with Jo already attached, a short form with centuries of independent use behind it.
- On US birth records continuously for over a century, so it is established rather than newly minted.
To consider
- The song follows the name everywhere. Expect people to sing a line of it, and know that its lyrics are a plea to another woman not to take the singer's man — a strong association, and one that is affectionate more often than not.
- Joleen and Joline both exist, so the spelling will occasionally need confirming even though the pronunciation does not.
- The name's strongest generation is now well into adulthood, so many adults will place it with their own contemporaries rather than with small children — while a child named Jolene today would likely be the only one in her school.
Marisol
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in both Spanish and English — no silent letters, no competing variant spellings to keep explaining.
- Reads naturally in Spanish and in English, which matters in bilingual families and across borders.
- Two ready-made short forms that come from opposite ends of the name: Mari and Sol.
To consider
- The stress moves between languages — mah-ree-SOHL in Spanish, MAR-ih-sohl in many English mouths. Expect to hear both, sometimes from the same person twice.
- The documented root, Soledad, means 'solitude', and comes from a devotion to Mary in mourning. Nothing somber clings to the name in use, but it is worth knowing before someone tells you.
- Mari, the likeliest short form, gets heard as Mary or Maria and may need repeating.
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 Jolene and Marisol in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Jolene and Marisol?
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
- Summer names full of light
- Spanish and Latin names with warmth
- Latin American and Caribbean names
- all guides
Where Jolene and Marisol each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Jolene or Marisol — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Jolene or Marisol?
- They tie in 2025: Jolene ranked #666 with 423 babies; Marisol ranked #666 with 423 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Jolene or Marisol?
- Marisol. Over the last five years Jolene moved down 191 places; Marisol moved up 311 places.
- Which is the older name, Jolene or Marisol?
- Jolene entered the US charts in 1918; Marisol entered the US charts in 1953. On the American record, Jolene is the older name.
- How many people are named Jolene and Marisol?
- About 32,500 people named Jolene are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 34,000 people named Marisol are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Jolenes or Marisols in the classroom?
- Jolene will almost certainly be the only one in school. Marisol 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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