Alynn
A feminine name with French origins meaning "handsome".
Name Census estimates that about 416 living Americans carry the first name Alynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Alynn today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Alynn births was 2015 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Alynn. 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
416
~ 1 in 823,929 Americans
Peak year
2015
17 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,565
Tracked since 1947
Census
Alynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 505 people with the first name Alynn, which placed it at #20,449 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
#20,449
National first-name rank
People counted
505
505 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alynn is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.5%) and Black (9.5%). 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 Alynn 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 Alynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.5% · 331
- Hispanic or Latino13.5% · 68
- Black or African American9.5% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.7% · 29
- Two or more races4.6% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 6
Popularity
Alynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Alynn from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 120 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Alynn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Alynn 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 Alynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Alynn
The given name Alynn is a relatively modern variation of the more traditional name Alina or Aline, which has its origins in the Germanic languages. The name Alina is derived from the Germanic root "ali," meaning "other" or "foreign." This suggests that the name may have been given to children of foreign or unknown parentage.
The earliest recorded use of the name Alina dates back to the 5th century, when it appears in ancient German records. Over time, the name spread throughout Europe, particularly in regions with Germanic influence. Variations of the name, such as Aline and Alyn, emerged in different areas, reflecting local linguistic and cultural influences.
While the name Alynn does not have a long and storied history like some ancient names, it has been used throughout the centuries by notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Alyna of Picardy, a 13th-century French noblewoman who played a significant role in the negotiations between France and England during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, Alynn de Vere was an English poet and writer whose works were influential during the Renaissance period. Her collection of sonnets, "The Garland of Verses," was widely acclaimed and helped to popularize the poetic form in England.
During the 17th century, Alynn Bradstreet was a prominent Puritan poet and the first woman to be published in colonial America. Her work, "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America," explored themes of religion, family, and the challenges faced by early settlers.
In the 19th century, Alynn Cather was a renowned American author known for her novels depicting life on the Great Plains. Her works, including "O Pioneers!" and "My Ántonia," are considered classics of American literature.
More recently, Alynn Landers was an influential American advice columnist who wrote the popular "Dear Abby" column for over four decades, from 1956 until her death in 2002. Her practical and compassionate advice on relationships, family, and everyday life touched the lives of millions of readers.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Alynn throughout history, showcasing its enduring appeal and versatility across different cultures and time periods.
People
Alynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Alynn 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
Alynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Alynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 416 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Alynn 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 823,929 US residents.
Is Alynn a common name?
We classify Alynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 439 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Alynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Alynn was 2015, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Alynn is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Alynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 505 people with the name Alynn, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,449 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 Alynn 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 Alynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Alynn leans strongly female. 464 people counted with this name were female (92.1%), compared with 40 male bearers (7.9%). 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 Alynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Alynn is White at 65.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.5%) and Black (9.5%). 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 Alynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Alynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.5% (331 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 Alynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Alynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Alynn 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.
Is Alynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Alynn 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 Alynn 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 are called Alynn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.