Baylor
Meaning "blessed protector; one who stands firm in the faith".
Name Census estimates that about 11,376 living Americans carry the first name Baylor. It sits at #365 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Baylor today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Baylor births was 2024 (1,251 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Baylor. 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.
Key insights
- • Baylor is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
11K
~ 1 in 30,130 Americans
Peak year
2024
1,251 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#365
Tracked since 1918
Gender
Gender distribution for Baylor
Baylor is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 11,497 total registrations, 8,183 (71.2%) were male and 3,314 (28.8%) were female.
Baylor as a male name
- Ranked #365 in 2024
- 903 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (903 births)
Baylor as a female name
- Ranked #807 in 2024
- 348 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (374 births)
Popularity
Baylor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Baylor from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 5,554 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Baylor 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 Baylor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Baylors live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Alabama recorded the most babies named Baylor, while Maine, Connecticut, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 237 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Baylor
The given name Baylor has its roots in the Old English language and can be traced back to the 9th century AD. It is derived from the Old English word "bæg" which means "berry" or "berry-colored," and the word "leah" which means "meadow" or "clearing." Together, the name Baylor can be interpreted to mean "berry meadow" or "berry clearing."
This name was particularly popular in the Anglo-Saxon regions of England during the Middle Ages. It was often given to children born or residing in areas known for their abundance of berries or berry-producing plants.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Baylor can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Bægleah" in reference to a small settlement in the county of Hertfordshire.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Baylor. One of the most prominent was Baylor Hickerson (1768-1842), an American Revolutionary War soldier and pioneer who helped establish the settlement of Baylor County in Texas.
Another notable Baylor was Baylor Procter (1785-1861), a British politician and philanthropist who served as a Member of Parliament and was instrumental in establishing several educational institutions in his hometown of Bath.
In the realm of literature, Baylor Tarpley (1876-1944) was an American writer and poet known for his works that captured the spirit of the American West.
The name Baylor also found its way into the world of sports with Baylor Triplett (1936-2023), a former professional football player who spent his entire career with the Detroit Lions in the National Football League.
Lastly, Baylor Jacobson (1901-1986) was a renowned American architect who designed several iconic buildings, including the Baylor University campus in Waco, Texas, which bears his name.
These are just a few examples of individuals who carried the name Baylor throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of this unique and evocative name.
People
Baylor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Baylor as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Baylor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Baylor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11,376 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Baylor 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 30,130 US residents.
Is Baylor a common name?
We classify Baylor as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,497 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Baylor most popular?
The single biggest year for Baylor was 2024, when 1,251 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Baylor is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Baylor a male name?
Yes, 71.2% of people registered as Baylor 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.