Arlynn
A feminine name of German origin meaning "pledge or promise".
Name Census estimates that about 528 living Americans carry the first name Arlynn. It is a predominantly female name (90.6% of registrations). The average person named Arlynn today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Arlynn births was 2018 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Arlynn. 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
528
~ 1 in 649,156 Americans
Peak year
2018
25 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1959 SSA rank
#4,023
Tracked since 1917
Census
Arlynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 636 people with the first name Arlynn, which placed it at #17,376 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
#17,376
National first-name rank
People counted
636
636 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arlynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlynn is White at 55.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.6%). 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 Arlynn 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 Arlynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.2% · 351
- Hispanic or Latino23.1% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.6% · 80
- Black or African American6.0% · 38
- Two or more races2.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Arlynn
Arlynn leans heavily female at 90.6% of total registrations, but 61 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Arlynn as a male name
- Ranked #4,023 in 1959
- 5 male births in 1959
- Peak: 1936 (8 births)
Arlynn as a female name
- Ranked #7,988 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (25 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arlynn leans strongly female. 540 people counted with this name were female (84.4%), compared with 100 male bearers (15.6%).
Popularity
Arlynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Arlynn from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 157 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Arlynn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Arlynn 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 Arlynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arlynns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Arlynn, while Texas, North Carolina, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Arlynn
The name Arlynn is a relatively modern name, believed to have originated in the late 19th or early 20th century. It is likely a combination of the Old English name Arlin and the suffix "-yn" or "-ynn," which is sometimes used to create diminutive or feminine forms of names. The name Arlin itself is derived from the Old English words "ær" meaning "before" and "linn" meaning "pool" or "lake."
While the exact origin of the name Arlynn is unclear, it is considered an English name and was likely first used in English-speaking countries. There are no known historical references to the name Arlynn in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the late 19th century.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Arlynn was in the United States. Arlynn Elizabeth Leiber was an American writer and librarian born in 1918 in New York. She is best known for her children's books and contributions to the field of library science.
Another notable figure with the name Arlynn was Arlynn Presser, an American writer and editor born in 1921. She worked for various publishing houses and was known for her contributions to the field of children's literature.
In the realm of sports, Arlynn Mulder was a Dutch tennis player born in 1929. She competed in several Grand Slam tournaments, including Wimbledon and the French Open, during the 1950s and 1960s.
Arlynn Leiber Lockett, born in 1940 in the United States, was a renowned ceramist and artist. Her works have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the country.
Arlynn Kraushaar was an American author and educator born in 1945. She wrote several books on topics related to teaching and education, and was a respected figure in the field of education reform.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Arlynn. While it is a relatively modern name, it has been used by individuals from various fields and backgrounds, contributing to its unique identity and history.
People
Arlynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Arlynn 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
Arlynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Arlynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 528 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Arlynn 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 649,156 US residents.
Is Arlynn a common name?
We classify Arlynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 647 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Arlynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Arlynn was 2018, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Arlynn is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Arlynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 636 people with the name Arlynn, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,376 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 Arlynn 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 Arlynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Arlynn leans strongly female. 540 people counted with this name were female (84.4%), compared with 100 male bearers (15.6%). 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 Arlynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Arlynn is White at 55.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.6%). 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 Arlynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Arlynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.2% (351 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 Arlynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Arlynn a female name?
Yes, 90.6% of people registered as Arlynn 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 Arlynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Arlynn 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 Arlynn 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 have Arlynn as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.