Caylen
A sweet and feminine name of Scottish origin meaning "slender, small."
Name Census estimates that about 1,004 living Americans carry the first name Caylen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 65.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Caylen today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caylen births was 2010 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caylen. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 341,389 Americans
Peak year
2010
60 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,834
Tracked since 1982
Gender
Gender distribution for Caylen
Caylen is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,020 total registrations, 357 (35.0%) were male and 663 (65.0%) were female.
Caylen as a male name
- Ranked #7,834 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (21 births)
Caylen as a female name
- Ranked #10,408 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (41 births)
Popularity
Caylen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caylen from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 363 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caylen 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 Caylen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caylens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Caylen, while Florida, California, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caylen
The name Caylen is a modern variation of the name Callan, which is believed to have originated from the Old Irish Gaelic name "Colmán." This name was derived from the Celtic word "colm," meaning "dove." It was a popular name among early Irish Christians, who saw the dove as a symbol of peace and the Holy Spirit.
The name Colmán was first recorded in ancient Irish annals and manuscripts from the 5th century AD. One of the earliest documented individuals with this name was Saint Colmán of Dromore, who lived in the late 6th century and established a monastic school in County Down, Ireland.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Colmán remained prevalent in Ireland and Scotland, often anglicized as "Callan" or "Callum." One notable bearer of this name was Callan of Énlí, an Irish poet and scholar who lived in the 8th century and was renowned for his wisdom and learning.
As the name spread beyond its Celtic roots, it underwent various spelling variations, including "Calyn," "Cailin," and "Caylen." The latter spelling, Caylen, is a relatively modern form that emerged in the late 20th century, particularly in English-speaking countries.
Among the notable individuals named Caylen throughout history are Caylen Carroll, an American singer and songwriter born in 1996; Caylen Cotten, an American professional basketball player born in 1996; and Caylen Portis, an American basketball player born in 2000.
Additionally, there was Caylen Delgado, a Chilean footballer who played in the early 20th century, and Caylen Cullen, an Australian rules football player who was active in the 1930s.
While the name Caylen is a relatively recent variant, it carries with it the rich cultural heritage of its Celtic origins, symbolizing peace, gentleness, and a connection to the natural world.
People
Caylen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caylen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caylen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caylen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,004 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caylen 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 341,389 US residents.
Is Caylen a common name?
We classify Caylen as "Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,020 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caylen most popular?
The single biggest year for Caylen was 2010, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caylen is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Caylen a female name?
Yes, 65.0% of people registered as Caylen 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.