Head to head · Boys' names
Saul vs Seth
#557 vs #581 in 2025
Saul is a whisker ahead (#557 vs #581 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Saul is holding its place on the charts, Seth is stepping back from its peak.
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, Saul leads 3 measures of 6; Seth leads 2.
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, Seth #333 — Seth higher
- 1890s: Saul #632, Seth #500 — Seth higher
- 1900s: Saul #478, Seth #559 — Saul higher
- 1910s: Saul #371, Seth #649 — Saul higher
- 1920s: Saul #427, Seth #695 — Saul higher
- 1930s: Saul #521, Seth #797 — Saul higher
- 1940s: Saul #648, Seth #710 — Saul higher
- 1950s: Saul #658, Seth #527 — Seth higher
- 1960s: Saul #628, Seth #408 — Seth higher
- 1970s: Saul #492, Seth #174 — Seth higher
- 1980s: Saul #423, Seth #97 — Seth higher
- 1990s: Saul #350, Seth #93 — Seth higher
- 2000s: Saul #302, Seth #94 — Seth higher
- 2010s: Saul #465, Seth #269 — Seth higher
- 2020s: Saul #555, Seth #509 — Seth higher
Seth stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Seth has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Saul | Seth |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #567 | #333 |
| 1890s | #632 | #500 |
| 1900s | #478 | #559 |
| 1910s | #371 | #649 |
| 1920s | #427 | #695 |
| 1930s | #521 | #797 |
| 1940s | #648 | #710 |
| 1950s | #658 | #527 |
| 1960s | #628 | #408 |
| 1970s | #492 | #174 |
| 1980s | #423 | #97 |
| 1990s | #350 | #93 |
| 2000s | #302 | #94 |
| 2010s | #465 | #269 |
| 2020s | #555 | #509 |
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.
Seth
appointed, placed
The reading comes from the Hebrew verb shith, 'to set or place', and Genesis 4:25 makes the connection explicit: Eve names her son because God has appointed her another child in place of Abel.
Shet (Hebrew) → Sēth (Greek) → Seth (Latin) → Seth (English)
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew — Shet — and belongs to the third son of Adam and Eve in Genesis, the one through whom the genealogies continue. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Sēth, Latin kept that spelling, and English inherited it unchanged, which is why the modern form looks so close to the original.
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.
Seth
SETH
One syllable, rhyming with 'breath'. There is only one pronunciation in English, and the spelling gives it away completely.
- Sethy — Almost entirely a family diminutive used with small children; rarely survives into school years.
- Sethie — A spelling variant of the same affectionate childhood form; informal only.
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 most people already know#557 in 2025, 535 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 18 places on the charts in five years
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 72% for Seth
Choose Seth if you want…
- a name fewer children share#581 in 2025 — seth will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsSeth is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowSeth is stepping back from its peak
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.
Seth
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds, and short enough that nobody asks twice — a rare combination in a biblical name.
- A documented record stretching from Genesis through Greek and Latin scripture into continuous English use since the Puritans.
- Recognizable in most European languages, which read it with only small adjustments to the ending.
To consider
- The final -th does not exist in Spanish, French, Portuguese or most Asian languages, so the name is often heard and repeated as 'Set' or 'Seth-uh' outside English.
- It resists shortening. Beyond a childhood 'Sethy', there is no nickname waiting, which suits some families and leaves others without an affectionate register.
- The Egyptian god Set is written Seth in older scholarship and shows up that way in mythology books and video games. It is an unrelated name, but the overlap occasionally gets mentioned.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Saul
40%chance Saul feels dated by 2040
Saul sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Seth
72%chance Seth feels dated by 2040
Seth is coming down from a big peak (#63 in 2000). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Saul and Seth 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 Seth?
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
- Y2K names: the class of the 2000s
- Names that fell out of the top 100 this century
- Biblical names, from Noah to Naomi
- Egyptian mythology names
- all guides
Where Saul and Seth each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Saul or Seth — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Saul or Seth?
- Saul, in 2025: Saul ranked #557 with 535 babies; Seth ranked #581 with 505 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Saul or Seth?
- Saul. Over the last five years Saul moved up 18 places; Seth moved down 149 places.
- Which is the older name, Saul or Seth?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Saul and Seth?
- About 36,000 people named Saul are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 156,000 people named Seth are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Sauls or Seths in the classroom?
- Saul will almost certainly be the only one in school. Seth 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, Seth and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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