Sol
Unisex name of Latin origin meaning "the sun".
Name Census estimates that about 6,356 living Americans carry the first name Sol. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 68.6% of registrations being male. The average person named Sol today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sol births was 2024 (522 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sol. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sol with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Sol started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
People living today
6.4K
~ 1 in 53,926 Americans
Peak year
2024
522 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#819
Tracked since 1880
Census
Sol in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,329 people with the first name Sol, which placed it at #3,351 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,351
National first-name rank
People counted
6.3K
6,329 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
61.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sol
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sol is Hispanic at 61.0%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sol described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sol at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino61.0% · 3,860
- White23.9% · 1,512
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 588
- Black or African American3.7% · 236
- Two or more races1.8% · 112
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 21
Gender
Gender distribution for Sol
Sol is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 11,807 total registrations, 8,099 (68.6%) were male and 3,708 (31.4%) were female.
Sol as a male name
- Ranked #1,135 in 2024
- 186 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (321 births)
Sol as a female name
- Ranked #819 in 2024
- 336 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (336 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sol on both sides of the split. Of the 6,326 people counted with this name, 2,371 were male (37.5%) and 3,955 were female (62.5%).
Popularity
Sol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sol from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 2,162 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sol by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sol during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sols live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. New York, California, Texas recorded the most babies named Sol, while Minnesota, Kentucky, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 240 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sol
The name Sol is derived from the Latin word 'sol', meaning 'sun'. It has its origins in ancient Roman civilization, where the Sun was revered as a deity and was central to their mythology and religion.
Sol was one of the most important Roman gods, and the name was often used to refer to the sun itself. The cult of Sol was particularly prominent during the later Roman Empire, when it became closely associated with the imperial cult and the worship of the emperor.
In ancient Roman texts, such as the works of Ovid and Virgil, Sol is frequently mentioned as a powerful and revered figure. The name also appears in various religious texts and inscriptions from the time, underscoring its significance in Roman culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sol being used as a personal name dates back to the 1st century AD. A Roman soldier named Sol is mentioned in an inscription from Hadrian's Wall, which was constructed in present-day northern England during the reign of the emperor Hadrian.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sol. One of the most famous was Sol Invictus, a Roman sun god who was widely worshipped during the later Roman Empire. His cult was particularly popular among the military and was adopted by several Roman emperors, including Aurelian and Constantine.
Another notable figure was Sol Tse, a Chinese philosopher and writer who lived in the 6th century AD. He is best known for his work "The Book of the Way and Its Power", which explored the concepts of Taoism and the natural order of the universe.
In the 12th century, Sol ibn Gabirol was a renowned Jewish philosopher and poet from Andalusia, in present-day Spain. He made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy, poetry, and ethics, and his works had a lasting impact on both Jewish and Islamic thought.
During the Renaissance period, Sol Rosales was a prominent Spanish artist and engraver who was active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is best known for his intricate engravings and illustrations, which often depicted religious and mythological themes.
Finally, in the 19th century, Sol Plaatje was a South African writer, politician, and activist who played a significant role in the struggle against apartheid. He is remembered for his pioneering work in promoting the rights of black South Africans and for his efforts to preserve and document the languages and cultures of the region.
People
Sol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sol as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,356 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sol going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 53,926 US residents.
Is Sol a common name?
We classify Sol as "Rare". It ranks above 97% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,807 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sol most popular?
The single biggest year for Sol was 2024, when 522 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sol is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sol in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,329 people with the name Sol, or 2.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,351 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sol in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sol?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Sol on both sides of the split. Of the 6,326 people counted with this name, 2,371 were male (37.5%) and 3,955 were female (62.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sol?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sol is Hispanic at 61.0%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sol most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Sol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.0% (3,860 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sol in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sol a male name?
Yes, 68.6% of people registered as Sol in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sol still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sol in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sol can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Sol?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.