Head to head · Girls' names
Marisol vs Myra
#666 vs #662 in 2025
Myra is a whisker ahead (#662 vs #666 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Myra is stepping back from its peak, Marisol is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Marisol 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, Myra leads 5 measures of 6; Marisol 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: Marisol —, Myra #190 — Myra higher
- 1890s: Marisol —, Myra #236 — Myra higher
- 1900s: Marisol —, Myra #283 — Myra higher
- 1910s: Marisol —, Myra #292 — Myra higher
- 1920s: Marisol —, Myra #295 — Myra higher
- 1930s: Marisol —, Myra #260 — Myra higher
- 1940s: Marisol —, Myra #230 — Myra higher
- 1950s: Marisol #3999, Myra #259 — Myra higher
- 1960s: Marisol #947, Myra #356 — Myra higher
- 1970s: Marisol #361, Myra #497 — Marisol higher
- 1980s: Marisol #408, Myra #600 — Marisol higher
- 1990s: Marisol #362, Myra #833 — Marisol higher
- 2000s: Marisol #397, Myra #989 — Marisol higher
- 2010s: Marisol #816, Myra #672 — Myra higher
- 2020s: Marisol #810, Myra #601 — Myra higher
Myra stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Myra has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Marisol | Myra |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #190 |
| 1890s | — | #236 |
| 1900s | — | #283 |
| 1910s | — | #292 |
| 1920s | — | #295 |
| 1930s | — | #260 |
| 1940s | — | #230 |
| 1950s | #3999 | #259 |
| 1960s | #947 | #356 |
| 1970s | #361 | #497 |
| 1980s | #408 | #600 |
| 1990s | #362 | #833 |
| 2000s | #397 | #989 |
| 2010s | #816 | #672 |
| 2020s | #810 | #601 |
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
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.
Myra
Either a rearrangement of Mary, or from Greek myron, 'myrrh, sweet oil'
Two serious readings compete, and neither has won. The first treats Myra as Fulke Greville's poetic anagram of Mary — Elizabethan poets built names that way. The second connects it to Greek myron, 'myrrh' or 'perfumed oil', the same root behind the older name Myron. A third line simply points to Myra, the coastal city in what is now Turkey, whose bishop was Saint Nicholas.
How it traveled
The name was coined, not inherited: it appears as the beloved's name in Caelica, the sonnet sequence by Fulke Greville, first Baron Brooke, written in the late sixteenth century and printed after his death. Later English poets kept it in circulation as a literary name for a woman, and by the nineteenth century it had passed fully into ordinary use in Britain, Ireland and the United States.
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
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.
Myra
MY-ruh
Stress on the first syllable, rhyming with 'fire'. Some families, especially where the name sits alongside Mira and Meera, say MEE-ruh instead — worth deciding early which one you mean, as both will be offered to you.
- My — An affectionate family shortening rather than a public one; most bearers use the full name in every setting, since it is already short.
- Mimi — Used informally in some families, and also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
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, Myra 2
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Mari, Sol and Soli
- a newer arrivalMarisol entered the US charts in 1953
Choose Myra if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMyra is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesMyra is 2 syllables to Marisol's 3
- a long American recordMyra 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
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.
Myra
Strengths
- Spelled as it sounds, and short enough that it never needs shortening — no formal-versus-everyday version to manage.
- In continuous English use since the Elizabethan era, so it is familiar rather than novel, even to people who have met few Myras.
- Recognizable across several languages through its close neighbors Mira, Meera and Mayra.
To consider
- Most Myras in the United States today belong to older generations, so the name currently reads as a grandmother's rather than a classmate's — that is exactly the position names occupy shortly before they come back, but it is where it sits now.
- Mira, Meera, Mayra and Myrna are all in use, and Myra will be misheard as one of them often enough that you will spell it aloud.
- In Britain the name was badly damaged by a notorious 1960s murder case and fell sharply out of favor there. In American ears the association is faint to absent, but it is worth knowing if you have family or ties in the UK.
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 Marisol and Myra in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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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 Marisol and Myra each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Marisol or Myra — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Marisol or Myra?
- Myra, in 2025: Myra ranked #662 with 429 babies; Marisol ranked #666 with 423 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Marisol or Myra?
- Marisol. Over the last five years Marisol moved up 311 places; Myra moved down 106 places.
- Which is the older name, Marisol or Myra?
- Marisol entered the US charts in 1953; Myra was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Myra is the older name.
- How many people are named Marisol and Myra?
- About 34,000 people named Marisol are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 41,500 people named Myra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Marisols or Myras in the classroom?
- Marisol will almost certainly be the only one in school. Myra 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
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