Aylan
A Turkish name related to the word "ayla" meaning month or moon.
Name Census estimates that about 620 living Americans carry the first name Aylan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aylan today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aylan births was 2016 (96 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aylan. 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
620
~ 1 in 552,830 Americans
Peak year
2016
96 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,828
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Aylan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aylan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 373 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aylan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aylan 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 Aylan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aylans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Aylan, while Georgia, Arizona, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aylan
The name Aylan has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is a variant spelling of the Arabic name Aylan, which is derived from the root word "ayl," meaning "night" or "evening." The name is believed to have emerged in the Middle East region during the early centuries of the Islamic era.
In Arabic literature and poetry, the name Aylan has been used to symbolize beauty, tranquility, and the serene nature of the night. It has been mentioned in several ancient Arabic texts and manuscripts, although its exact origins remain somewhat obscure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Aylan can be found in the historical records of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over a significant portion of the Middle East and North Africa from the 8th to the 13th century. During this period, several notable figures bore the name Aylan, including Aylan al-Kindi, a prominent Arab philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 9th century.
Throughout the centuries, the name Aylan has been carried by various individuals of historical significance. Among them are Aylan al-Shafi'i, a renowned Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 8th century and played a pivotal role in the development of Islamic jurisprudence. Another notable figure was Aylan al-Hamdani, a 10th-century Arab geographer and historian who authored several important works on the geography and history of the Islamic world.
In the 12th century, Aylan al-Dimashqi, a Syrian poet and writer, gained recognition for his literary contributions, including his famous work "Kitab al-Isharah ila Mahasin al-Tijarah" (The Book of Indications of the Merits of Trade).
Moving forward in time, the name Aylan was also borne by Aylan al-Kurdi, a Syrian Kurdish refugee who tragically drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in 2015 while attempting to reach Europe. The heartbreaking image of his lifeless body on a Turkish beach became a powerful symbol of the refugee crisis, drawing global attention to the plight of displaced people.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Aylan, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human culture and society.
People
Aylan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aylan 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
Aylan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aylan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 620 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aylan 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 552,830 US residents.
Is Aylan a common name?
We classify Aylan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 624 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aylan most popular?
The single biggest year for Aylan was 2016, when 96 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aylan is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aylan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aylan in the SSA data are male. 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.