BabyNamesMap

Baby names › Girls

Selene

Means “light”*

CommonRare
Rank 2015: #1,175, 2016: #1,210, 2017: #915, 2018: #830, 2019: #854, 2020: #803, 2021: #720, 2022: #689, 2023: #708, 2024: #674, 2025: #6211 in 3,427 girls in the US, 2025#621 · rising · was #1,175 in 2015
CommonRare
Rank 2015: #3,615, 2017: #2,925, 2018: #1,788, 2019: #2,040, 2020: #1,618, 2021: #1,569, 2022: #1,416, 2023: #1,705, 2024: #1,262, 2025: #9511 in 6,845 girls in E&W, 2025#951 · rising · was #3,615 in 2015

Girl’s name · Greek · /sɪˈliːni/

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What Selene means

Means “light”

From the Ancient Greek Σελήνη (Selḗnē, proper noun), from σέλας (sélas, “light”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Selene” (revision 93596965), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Selene?

US 2025
#621
469 babies
▲ 53 vs 2024
England & Wales 2025
#951
37 babies
▲ 311 vs 2024
Scotland
–
Not listed

US: Rising: up from #1175 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #3615 in 2015.

00.518801920196020002025
US, 1880–2025England & Wales, 1996–2025Babies per 1,000 girls born. Dot: biggest US share (2025)

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 469 girls got the name (#621 that year). First in the US records in 1919.

How common

  • About 1 in 3,427 baby girls in the US in 2025
  • About 1 in 6,845 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NM (1.07 per 1,000 girls), CA (0.62 per 1,000 girls), FL (0.55 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

AK
ME
WI
VT
NH
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
NV
WY
SD
IA
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
FewerMore · grey: under 5 babies, not listed

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Selene is #621 in the US and #951 in England & Wales (2025).

Rank 2025BabiesHow commonRank 2015
US#6214691 in 3,427#1175
England & Wales#951371 in 6,845#3615
Scotland––––

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Selene were girls.

GirlsBoys
US 20254690
England & Wales 2025370
US all years since 18809,7135
England & Wales since 19962680

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

/sɪˈliːni/
US/səˈlini/

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

  • Celine1,466 US · 199 E&W
  • Solene179 US · 14 E&W
  • Selin37 US · 44 E&W
  • Solenne76 US · 4 E&W
  • Seline55 US · 8 E&W
  • Selen13 US · 7 E&W
  • Soline17 US · 3 E&W
  • Celene19 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Selene

Girls

  • Theodora#725“God s Gift”
  • Ophelia#264possibly “help, aid, succour”
  • Iris#61“rainbow”
  • Cleo#577Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,743 in 2015, #577 in 2025
  • Rhea#639Editor’s note Up from #994 in 2015 to #639 in 2025 in the US
  • Elena#42Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #106 in 2015, #42 in 2025. 5 letters, starting with a vowel

For a brother

  • Ambrose#735“immortal, divine”
  • Leon#138“lion”
  • Niko#325Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1962, with 5 babies
  • Theodore#4Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #99 in 2015, #4 in 2025
  • Evander#698“good man”
  • Theo#82Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #405 in 2015, #82 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Greek, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Selene’s. Rank is US 2025.

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