Head to head · Girls' names
Scarlet vs Solana
#509 vs #495 in 2025
Solana is a whisker ahead (#495 vs #509 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Solana is climbing the charts fast, Scarlet is holding its place on the charts.
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
The tape is even: Scarlet and Solana each lead 3 measures of 6.
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
- 1930s: Scarlet #3782, Solana — — Scarlet higher
- 1940s: Scarlet #1944, Solana — — Scarlet higher
- 1950s: Scarlet #1879, Solana — — Scarlet higher
- 1960s: Scarlet #1465, Solana — — Scarlet higher
- 1970s: Scarlet #1782, Solana #6221 — Scarlet higher
- 1980s: Scarlet #2160, Solana #6090 — Scarlet higher
- 1990s: Scarlet #2052, Solana #4711 — Scarlet higher
- 2000s: Scarlet #1107, Solana #2787 — Scarlet higher
- 2010s: Scarlet #388, Solana #2921 — Scarlet higher
- 2020s: Scarlet #465, Solana #1018 — Scarlet higher
Scarlet stood higher in every recorded decade — 10 of 10.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Scarlet | Solana |
|---|---|---|
| 1930s | #3782 | — |
| 1940s | #1944 | — |
| 1950s | #1879 | — |
| 1960s | #1465 | — |
| 1970s | #1782 | #6221 |
| 1980s | #2160 | #6090 |
| 1990s | #2052 | #4711 |
| 2000s | #1107 | #2787 |
| 2010s | #388 | #2921 |
| 2020s | #465 | #1018 |
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
Scarlet
the bright red color; originally a rich cloth
The word first named a fine, expensive fabric rather than a shade — the cloth could be other colors — and narrowed to the red itself over the medieval period. Both readings are part of the same documented history, not competing guesses.
scarlatum (medieval Latin) → escarlate (Old French) → scarlet (Middle English) → Scarlett (English surname) → Scarlet
How it traveled
The word came into medieval Latin as scarlatum and Old French as escarlate, naming an expensive imported cloth; English had it as scarlet by the Middle Ages, by then chiefly for the color. It also became a surname for the people who made, dyed or sold that cloth, which is the road the double-t Scarlett traveled.
Solana
Sunny side, sunlit place
From Spanish solana, a sun-exposed slope or sun porch, from Latin solanus 'of the sun', from sol 'sun'.
sol (Latin) → solanus → solana (Spanish) → Solana
How it traveled
Solana begins as a plain noun in Spanish — the face of a hill that gets the sun, as opposed to the umbria, the shaded side. Because farmers and builders cared about that distinction, it became a place name many times over, attached to villages, streets and neighborhoods throughout Spain and later the Spanish-speaking Americas.
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
Scarlet
SKAR-let
Two syllables, stress on the first, exactly like the color word. Almost no American reader hesitates over it, and there is no second accepted pronunciation to correct.
- Lettie — Informal short form taken from the ending; also stands alone as an older given name in its own right.
- Letty — Same short form, spelled the shorter way; used within families more than in writing.
- Scar — The obvious clipping, common among schoolmates; some families steer away from it because it is also an English word.
- Scarly — Affectionate household form, rarely written down.
Solana
so-LAH-nah
Stress falls on the middle syllable in both English and Spanish. The first vowel is short — closer to 'so' than 'soul'.
- Lana — The most natural English short form, and a long-established given name in its own right.
- Sol — Used in Spanish-speaking families; also stands alone as a girl's name in Spanish, particularly in Argentina.
- Sola — Informal clipping used at home; note it is also the Spanish word for 'alone'.
- Ana — Drawn from the end of the name rather than the start; a full given name across Spanish, Portuguese and Slavic languages.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Scarlet if you want…
- a name fewer children share#509 in 2025 — scarlet will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyScarlet is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesScarlet is 2 syllables to Solana's 3
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 62% for Solana
Choose Solana if you want…
- a name most people already know#495 in 2025, 599 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 1,139 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itSolana runs 3 syllables, Scarlet 2
- a name that feels very nowSolana is climbing the charts fast
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
Scarlet
Strengths
- Everyone already knows how to say it — it is an English word before it is a name, so it survives phone calls and substitute teachers intact.
- Short, stress-first, and easy to say alongside most surnames.
- Has real short forms available — Lettie and Letty — without depending on them.
To consider
- The double-t Scarlett is the more widely recognized spelling, thanks to Scarlett O'Hara and to Scarlett Johansson. Choosing the single-t version means a lifetime of gentle corrections — not hard ones, but frequent.
- Scarlett O'Hara comes attached to Gone with the Wind, a book and film long criticized for how they portray slavery and the Confederacy. Most people won't make the connection; some will, and it's better to have thought about it first.
- English keeps a few old phrases in circulation — the biblical "scarlet woman", and scarlet fever. Neither is much heard now, but the word carries them.
Solana
Strengths
- Spelled exactly as it sounds in both English and Spanish; no silent letters and no competing pronunciations to correct.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Lana, Sol, Ana — each of which is already an established name on its own.
- A transparent meaning in a living language: any Spanish speaker reads 'sunny side' straight off the page.
To consider
- Since 2020 Solana has also been the name of a large cryptocurrency, which currently dominates search results. That association is recent and may fade, but for now it is the first thing many adults will think of.
- Solange, Solene, Salana and Solina all circle nearby, so expect the occasional mishearing over the phone and a spelling repeated on forms.
- A child with this name will very likely be the only one in the school, which cuts both ways: no shared name, but also a lifetime of brief explanations.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Scarlet
40%chance Scarlet feels dated by 2040
Scarlet 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.
Solana
62%chance Solana feels dated by 2040
Solana 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 Scarlet and Solana 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 Scarlet and Solana?
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
Where Scarlet and Solana each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Scarlet or Solana — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Scarlet or Solana?
- Solana, in 2025: Solana ranked #495 with 599 babies; Scarlet ranked #509 with 581 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Scarlet or Solana?
- Solana. Over the last five years Scarlet moved down 63 places; Solana moved up 1,139 places.
- Which is the older name, Scarlet or Solana?
- Scarlet entered the US charts in 1939; Solana entered the US charts in 1976. On the American record, Scarlet is the older name.
- How many people are named Scarlet and Solana?
- About 17,500 people named Scarlet are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 3,400 people named Solana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Scarlets or Solanas in the classroom?
- Scarlet will almost certainly be the only one in school. Solana 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 Scarlet, Solana and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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