Sol
Masculine · “Sun" in Latin”
Sol is given to both — 8,285 boys and 4,097 girls since 1880. See Sol as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Sol is the Latin word for the sun, carried unchanged into Spanish and Portuguese, and it has been a name in Spanish-speaking families for generations — often as the short form of Marisol or Soledad, often on its own. In English-speaking America it arrived by a different road entirely, as the everyday form of Solomon. Three letters, one clean syllable, and two long histories behind it.
How old is the name Sol?
Sol was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Sol alive today was born around 1924, making them about 101 years old. About 2,800 people named Sol are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sol most popular?
Sol peaked in 1913, reaching #256 nationally. Today it ranks #1145, 889 places below that high. See the whole 1913 chart.
Sol appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Latin sol to Sol
The story of Sol
Latin sol passed into the Romance languages as the plain word for the sun, and Spanish speakers have long used it as a given name in its own right, as well as the short form for Soledad and Marisol — a pattern still strong in Argentina and across Latin America. On a separate track, Norse mythology names the sun Sól, a figure recorded in the medieval Icelandic Eddas. Meanwhile, Yiddish-speaking families arriving in the United States shortened Solomon and Saul to Sol so consistently that it became a name of its own on this side of the Atlantic, and it remains well represented among older generations. The recent American revival draws mostly on the Spanish word, which is part of why it shows up most in California, Texas and Florida.
Meaningscholars disagree
"Sun" in Latin, Spanish and Portuguese — though a second, separate Sol means something else entirely
Two different names share this spelling. The Spanish and Portuguese Sol is the ordinary word for the sun, and also serves as the short form of Marisol and Soledad. The English and Yiddish Sol is a clipped form of Solomon (Hebrew Shlomo, from shalom, "peace") and sometimes of Saul. Which meaning a particular Sol carries depends on which family gave it.
How the name formed
- Latin sol
- Spanish Sol
- Soledad / Marisol
- Sol
Related forms: Sol · Sol · Sol · Marisol · Sole · Sól
Pronouncing Sol
SOHL
One syllable, rhyming with goal. In Spanish the vowel is shorter and purer than in English, closer to a clipped SOL. Expect an occasional mishearing as Saul or Sal over the phone.
Nicknames for Sol
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1918321 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #256reached in 1913
- Change vs 2022
- +5.1%184 in 2025, from 175
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sol in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sol in Spanish — same name
- Sol in Portuguese — same name
- Sol in Catalan — same name
- Marisol in Spanish — related form
- Sole in Italian — related form
- Sól in Old Norse — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Sols among us
people named Sol are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 9,283 born in 2025 was named Sol
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Sol is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Sol is headed
Sol looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 35% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Sol beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sol in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters, one syllable, and no spelling ambiguity — it is written the way it sounds in English, Spanish and Portuguese alike.
- Works both as a full name and as the established short form of Soledad, Marisol, Solange and Solomon, so a longer formal name can be added later or not at all.
- A documented record in two separate traditions — Spanish-speaking families and Jewish American families — meaning it is familiar to a lot of people without being common.
- Travels across languages without needing translation or adjustment.
- It is a word before it is a name — the sun in Spanish, a musical note in solfège, the currency of Peru. Most Sols find that unremarkable, but it does mean the name gets recognized rather than asked about.
- In English it sounds identical to "soul" and close to "sole," which invites the occasional pun and a certain amount of spelling-it-out over the phone.
- The two roads run in different directions: in Spanish-speaking contexts Sol reads clearly as a girl's name, while the older American Sol was almost always a man named Solomon. Either way, some people will guess wrong before they meet the child.
- At one syllable it can land flat against a very short surname; it tends to sit better with something longer after it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Sol to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Sol
Masculine · #1145 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sols are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,800 people named Sol are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sol in 2025?
- Sol ranks #1145 among US boy names in 2025, with 184 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sol?
- About 1 in every 9,283 US boys born in 2025 was named Sol — 184 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sol with classmates?
- Sol will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sol
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Archibald#1145 · Kross#1145 · Ermias#1145 · Kristian#1145 · Kenan#1145 · Hasan#1145 · Adiel#1141 · Zen#1141
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sol? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sol and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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