Head to head · Boys' names
Lincoln vs Silas
#69 vs #71 in 2025
Lincoln is a whisker ahead (#69 vs #71 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Lincoln is stepping back from its peak, Silas is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Silas 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, Lincoln leads 4 measures of 6; Silas 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: Lincoln #623, Silas #173 — Silas higher
- 1890s: Lincoln #559, Silas #215 — Silas higher
- 1900s: Lincoln #583, Silas #281 — Silas higher
- 1910s: Lincoln #517, Silas #375 — Silas higher
- 1920s: Lincoln #543, Silas #425 — Silas higher
- 1930s: Lincoln #651, Silas #473 — Silas higher
- 1940s: Lincoln #703, Silas #560 — Silas higher
- 1950s: Lincoln #809, Silas #709 — Silas higher
- 1960s: Lincoln #700, Silas #870 — Lincoln higher
- 1970s: Lincoln #734, Silas #867 — Lincoln higher
- 1980s: Lincoln #851, Silas #841 — Silas higher
- 1990s: Lincoln #828, Silas #787 — Silas higher
- 2000s: Lincoln #446, Silas #415 — Silas higher
- 2010s: Lincoln #93, Silas #140 — Lincoln higher
- 2020s: Lincoln #58, Silas #85 — Lincoln higher
Silas stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Lincoln has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lincoln | Silas |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #623 | #173 |
| 1890s | #559 | #215 |
| 1900s | #583 | #281 |
| 1910s | #517 | #375 |
| 1920s | #543 | #425 |
| 1930s | #651 | #473 |
| 1940s | #703 | #560 |
| 1950s | #809 | #709 |
| 1960s | #700 | #870 |
| 1970s | #734 | #867 |
| 1980s | #851 | #841 |
| 1990s | #828 | #787 |
| 2000s | #446 | #415 |
| 2010s | #93 | #140 |
| 2020s | #58 | #85 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lincoln
- Canada#67
Silas
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lincoln
Roman colony by the pool
The first element is Brittonic lindo, 'pool' — the Brayford Pool on the Witham; the second is Latin colonia, a settlement of Roman veterans. Together, Lindum Colonia, worn down over centuries to Lincoln.
Lindum Colonia → Lincoln (English city) → Lincoln (English surname) → Lincoln (given name)
How it traveled
The Romans founded a colonia at a Celtic settlement named for its pool, and the compound name survived the fall of the empire, Anglo-Saxon and Norse rule, and a thousand years of English speech to become the city and county of Lincoln. English families who lived there or came from there carried the place name as a surname, and it reached America with them in the colonial period.
Silas
Either "of the forest" or "asked for" — the two readings compete
One line treats Silas as a Greek shortening of the Latin Silvanus, from silva, "wood, forest" — and the New Testament itself supports the link, since the letters of Paul call the same traveling companion Silvanus. The other treats it as a Greek spelling of the Aramaic Sheila, from Hebrew Sha'ul, "asked for, prayed for" — the name English renders as Saul. Both are serious scholarly positions, and neither has won.
Silvanus → Σιλᾶς (Silas) → Silas
How it traveled
The name is first documented in Greek, in the Acts of the Apostles, borne by a companion of Paul on his journeys through the eastern Mediterranean. From the Greek scriptures it passed into Latin and then into English, where Protestant and especially Puritan families favored biblical names outside the usual Peter-and-John range.
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
Lincoln
LINK-un
The second l is silent — LINK-un, not LIN-coln. Stress falls on the first syllable. Speakers of languages that pronounce every letter often say LIN-koln at first.
- Linc — The standard short form in American use, informal, rarely given on its own.
- Link — A phonetic short form, informal; also a name in its own right and familiar from video games.
- Lin — Less common, informal within families; stands alone as a name in several other traditions.
Silas
SY-luhs
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with "pilus". German and Scandinavian speakers say SEE-lahs, which is worth knowing if the family spans both.
- Si — The traditional English short form, in informal use for centuries; rare as a given name on its own.
- Sy — The same short form spelled phonetically; also stands alone as a given name, mostly among older generations.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lincoln if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsLincoln is stepping back from its peak
- a name that charts abroad tooLincoln is on the national lists of Canada
- a name that feels very nowLincoln is stepping back from its peak
Choose Silas if you want…
- a name on the way upup 29 places on the charts in five years
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 52% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 77% for Lincoln
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
Lincoln
Strengths
- A spelling almost every English speaker already knows from maps, history books and coins, so it is written correctly on the first try.
- Two established short forms in genuine use, Linc and Link, without anyone needing to invent one.
- In continuous use as an American given name for well over a century, so it has a record rather than a moment.
To consider
- The presidential association is permanent and loud: pennies, the Memorial, the Gettysburg Address, a car brand, a toy log set. Your child will hear all of it.
- Almost everyone who carries it is a child, so it reads as distinctly young — there are very few adult Lincolns to grow into.
- Non-English speakers regularly say LIN-koln, since the silent second l is not obvious from the spelling.
Silas
Strengths
- A spelling most English speakers already know from scripture and from Eliot's novel, so it rarely needs to be spelled out loud.
- Documented continuously in English since the Puritan era — a long record rather than a recent coinage.
- Identical in spelling across Spanish, Portuguese, French and German, needing no adaptation abroad.
To consider
- It is climbing quickly. A child named Silas now may share classrooms with others later, even though that is unlikely today.
- The meaning is genuinely unsettled between "forest" and "asked for", so you cannot promise a relative one clean answer.
- Sylas and Silus turn up as variant spellings, and some listeners first hear Cyrus, so expect an occasional correction.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Lincoln
77%chance Lincoln feels dated by 2040
Lincoln is coming down from a big peak (#40 in 2020). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Silas
52%chance Silas feels dated by 2040
Silas 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 Lincoln and Silas 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 Lincoln and Silas?
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 that carry both names
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Two-syllable names, the American default
- Names in use since the records began
- all guides
Every list here names both Lincoln and Silas — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lincoln or Silas — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lincoln or Silas?
- Lincoln, in 2025: Lincoln ranked #69 with 4,703 babies; Silas ranked #71 with 4,639 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lincoln or Silas?
- Silas. Over the last five years Lincoln moved down 29 places; Silas moved up 29 places.
- Which is the older name, Lincoln or Silas?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Lincoln and Silas?
- About 100,000 people named Lincoln are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 67,000 people named Silas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lincolns or Silass in the classroom?
- Lincoln will almost certainly be the only one in school. Silas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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