Alayne
A feminine name of Old French origin meaning "path walker".
Name Census estimates that about 804 living Americans carry the first name Alayne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alayne today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alayne births was 1965 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alayne. 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.
People living today
804
~ 1 in 426,311 Americans
Peak year
1965
41 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,503
Tracked since 1929
Popularity
Alayne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alayne from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 202 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alayne 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 Alayne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Alaynes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Alayne, while Washington, Utah, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alayne
The name Alayne originates from the French language, specifically from the region of Normandy in northern France. It is a feminine form of the medieval French name Alain, which itself is derived from the ancient Breton name Alen or Alan. The Breton name is thought to have its roots in the Gaulish Celtic language, with possible meanings relating to "harmony" or "handsome."
In its earliest recorded use, the name Alayne appeared in medieval French texts and records from the 12th century onwards. It was particularly popular among the Norman nobility and upper classes during this period, likely due to its distinctive French sound and spelling.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Alayne was Alayne de Bretagne, a 13th-century French noblewoman who was the Countess of Richmond and held significant lands and titles in both England and France. She lived from around 1200 to 1243.
Another historical figure bearing the name was Alayne de Lusignan, a 13th-century French princess who was the daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche. She was born around 1220 and married John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey.
In the 14th century, Alayne de Bouville was a notable French noblewoman and lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of King Charles VI of France. She lived from approximately 1370 to 1435.
Moving forward to the 15th century, Alayne de Lyonne was a French courtier and mistress to King Charles VII of France. She was born around 1410 and played a significant role in the court intrigues of the time.
In the realm of literature, one of the earliest known uses of the name Alayne was in the 14th-century Middle English romance "The Squyr of Lowe Degre," where the female protagonist is named Alayne.
While the name Alayne has its roots in medieval France and was particularly prevalent among the nobility and upper classes during that time, it has since spread to other parts of the world and continues to be used as a given name, albeit less commonly in modern times.
People
Alayne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alayne as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Alayne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alayne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 804 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alayne 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 426,311 US residents.
Is Alayne a common name?
We classify Alayne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,090 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alayne most popular?
The single biggest year for Alayne was 1965, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alayne is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Alayne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alayne in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.