| Ariadne | Selene | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Most holy | Moon |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | ar-ee-AD-nee | seh-LEE-nee |
| Syllables | 4 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1960 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2016 (389) | 2025 (469) |
| In 2025 | 115 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ariadne | Selene |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 1,126 | 2,455 |
| 2010s | 2,589 | 2,348 |
| 2000s | 621 | 1,709 |
| 1990s | 255 | 1,608 |
| 1980s | 100 | 481 |
| 1970s | 63 | 473 |
| 1960s | 70 | 359 |
| 1950s | 0 | 161 |
| 1940s | 0 | 79 |
| 1930s | 0 | 12 |
| 1920s | 0 | 23 |
| 1910s | 0 | 5 |
Ariadne means “most holy” in Greek; she guides Theseus from the labyrinth.
Selene (Greek Selene) is the ancient Greek goddess who personified the moon; the word is related to 'selas' meaning light or brightness. A direct, literal moon name.
Ariadne is more popular than Selene today: about 115 US babies were given the name Ariadne in 2025, compared with 0 named Selene.
Ariadne means Most holy (Greek origin), while Selene means Moon (greek origin).
In US records, Ariadne first appears in 1960 and Selene in 0, so Selene has the longer recorded history.