Sela vs Selvin

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Sela Selvin

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 75 years in which either name was published, Selvin for 51 years and Sela for 24 years. The lead changed hands 20 times.

• 1914–1993 Selvin ahead, apart from 3 short spells
• 1994–2009 Sela ahead, apart from 2 short spells
• 2015–2025 Selvin ahead, apart from one short spell

12 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Selas alive today are over 19; half the Selvins are over 16. That is 3 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Where each one is strongest

• Sela California (6.2×), New York (1.6×), Texas (1.5×)
• Selvin California (4.1×), Texas (3.2×), Maryland (3.0×)

How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

• Sela vs Selena
• Sela vs Selma
• Sela vs Selina
• Sela vs Selah
• Sela vs Selene
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• Selvin vs Selma
• Selvin vs Selina