| Selena | Iris | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Moon | Iris flower / rainbow |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | suh-LEE-nuh | EYE-ris |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1995 (3,825) | 2025 (3,729) |
| In 2025 | 1,170 | 3,729 |
| Trend | Rising | Near its peak |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Selena | Iris |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 7,747 | 17,499 |
| 2010s | 11,028 | 15,352 |
| 2000s | 12,417 | 8,644 |
| 1990s | 15,043 | 5,542 |
| 1980s | 3,362 | 4,739 |
| 1970s | 4,843 | 4,685 |
| 1960s | 2,535 | 5,807 |
| 1950s | 964 | 8,871 |
| 1940s | 455 | 7,814 |
| 1930s | 327 | 8,135 |
| 1920s | 424 | 8,672 |
| 1910s | 318 | 4,360 |
| 1900s | 179 | 937 |
| 1890s | 143 | 374 |
| 1880s | 102 | 119 |
From the Greek Selene, the goddess of the moon.
From Greek 'iris' meaning 'rainbow'; Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow. The iris flower was named for its rainbow range of colours, so the name functions both as a bloom word and a word for 'rainbow'.
Iris is more popular than Selena today: about 3,729 US babies were given the name Iris in 2025, compared with 1,170 named Selena.
Selena means Moon (Greek origin), while Iris means Iris flower / rainbow (greek origin).
In US records, Selena first appears in 1880 and Iris in 1880, so Selena has the longer recorded history.