Head to head · Boys' names
Saul vs Scott
#557 vs #534 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Scott is a whisker ahead (#534 vs #557 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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, Scott leads 5 measures of 6; Saul leads 0.
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: Saul #567, Scott #237 — Scott higher
- 1890s: Saul #632, Scott #292 — Scott higher
- 1900s: Saul #478, Scott #359 — Scott higher
- 1910s: Saul #371, Scott #414 — Saul higher
- 1920s: Saul #427, Scott #437 — Saul higher
- 1930s: Saul #521, Scott #405 — Scott higher
- 1940s: Saul #648, Scott #204 — Scott higher
- 1950s: Saul #658, Scott #44 — Scott higher
- 1960s: Saul #628, Scott #15 — Scott higher
- 1970s: Saul #492, Scott #20 — Scott higher
- 1980s: Saul #423, Scott #41 — Scott higher
- 1990s: Saul #350, Scott #90 — Scott higher
- 2000s: Saul #302, Scott #235 — Scott higher
- 2010s: Saul #465, Scott #439 — Scott higher
- 2020s: Saul #555, Scott #576 — Saul higher
Scott stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Saul took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Saul | Scott |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #567 | #237 |
| 1890s | #632 | #292 |
| 1900s | #478 | #359 |
| 1910s | #371 | #414 |
| 1920s | #427 | #437 |
| 1930s | #521 | #405 |
| 1940s | #648 | #204 |
| 1950s | #658 | #44 |
| 1960s | #628 | #15 |
| 1970s | #492 | #20 |
| 1980s | #423 | #41 |
| 1990s | #350 | #90 |
| 2000s | #302 | #235 |
| 2010s | #465 | #439 |
| 2020s | #555 | #576 |
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
Saul
asked for, prayed for
From Hebrew Sha'ul, the passive participle of the verb sha'al, "to ask" — literally "asked for" or "requested".
Sha'ul → Saoul (Greek) → Saul (Latin) → Saul / Saúl
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, Sha'ul, and its most famous bearer in the Hebrew Bible is Saul, the first king of Israel. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, the name became Saoul, and from Greek into Latin it settled into the Saul that English still uses.
Scott
a Scot
The name is a nationality used as a personal name. What Scotti itself meant is not known; it is a Latin rendering of something the Romans heard, and no reliable etymology survives.
Scotti → Scott
How it traveled
In medieval England the surname meant exactly what it says: a man from Scotland, or a Gaelic speaker, given the name by neighbors who noticed. Border families carried it heavily, and it is now one of the commonest surnames in Scotland itself, which is a slight joke — you do not need to say a man is Scottish while he is standing in Scotland.
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
Saul
SAWL
One syllable in English, rhyming with "all". The Spanish Saúl is two syllables, sah-OOL, with the stress on the second — worth deciding early which one your family will use, since both are correct for their own language.
- Sal — Occasional informal short form; more often stands alone as a nickname for Salvador or Salvatore, so it may need explaining.
- Sauly — Family-level affectionate form, mostly used with young children.
- Chaúl — Playful Spanish-language pet form heard in some Latin American families; not a written name.
Scott
SKOT
One syllable, rhyming with hot. Said the same way everywhere English is spoken.
- Scotty — The affectionate form; a standing name of its own in America.
- Scottie — The ie spelling of the same form; also a breed of dog.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Saul if you want…
- a name fewer children share#557 in 2025 — saul will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadySaul is holding its place on the charts
Choose Scott if you want…
- a name most people already know#534 in 2025, 561 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 28 places on the charts in five years
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
Saul
Strengths
- One syllable, spelled exactly as it sounds in English — rarely misspelled once heard.
- Fully at home in both English and Spanish, which is part of why it is strongest in Texas, California and New York.
- A documented history stretching back to the Hebrew Bible, carried by both a king of Israel and Saul of Tarsus.
To consider
- "Better Call Saul" gave the name a well-known fictional lawyer, and for a while that will be the first association many adults make. It fades as the show ages, but expect the joke at least once.
- The English SAWL and the Spanish sah-OOL are genuinely different pronunciations of the same name. In bilingual families that is a feature; in mixed settings it means gentle correcting.
- The biblical King Saul's story ends badly — he loses favor and his throne. Most people know the name long before they know the narrative, but it is there if anyone looks.
Scott
Strengths
- One syllable and five letters, with no possible mispronunciation.
- It works well in front of long surnames, where fuller names get crowded.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the nineteen-sixties and seventies in America.
- It is also a very common surname, so Scott Scott is possible and does happen.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
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 Saul and Scott 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 Saul and Scott?
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.
Lists these names appear on
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- Generation X names (born 1965–1980)
- all guides
Where Saul and Scott each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Saul or Scott — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Saul or Scott?
- Scott, in 2025: Scott ranked #534 with 561 babies; Saul ranked #557 with 535 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Saul or Scott?
- Scott. Over the last five years Saul moved up 18 places; Scott moved up 28 places.
- Which is the older name, Saul or Scott?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Saul and Scott?
- About 36,000 people named Saul are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 664,000 people named Scott are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Sauls or Scotts in the classroom?
- Saul will almost certainly be the only one in school. Scott 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Saul, Scott and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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