Conlin
A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "descendant of Conall".
Name Census estimates that about 270 living Americans carry the first name Conlin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Conlin today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Conlin births was 2007 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Conlin. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Conlin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
270
~ 1 in 1,269,461 Americans
Peak year
2007
16 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,163
Tracked since 1990
Census
Conlin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 288 people with the first name Conlin, which placed it at #30,313 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
#30,313
National first-name rank
People counted
288
288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Conlin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Conlin is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Conlin 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 Conlin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 244
- Two or more races6.9% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 14
- Black or African American2.8% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Conlin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Conlin from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 108 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Conlin 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 Conlin 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 Conlin
The given name Conlin has its origins in the Gaelic language, tracing back to the medieval era in Ireland and Scotland. It is derived from the Old Irish word "conluan," which means "wolf cub" or "puppy." This name likely emerged as a nickname or a descriptive term before becoming a formal given name.
In ancient Irish folklore and literature, the wolf was often associated with bravery, strength, and loyalty. As a result, names with wolf-related meanings were popular among the Celtic tribes of the region. The name Conlin may have been bestowed upon children with the hope of imbuing them with these qualities.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Conlin can be found in medieval Irish annals and chronicles. One notable bearer was Conlín Ua Beólláin, an Irish poet and historian who lived in the 12th century. He is known for his work "The Book of Glendalough," which chronicled the history of the monastic settlement at Glendalough.
Another historical figure with the name Conlin was Conlín Ó Maoilchonaire, an Irish scribe and scholar who lived in the 14th century. He is credited with copying and preserving several important manuscripts, including the "Book of Fermoy," a collection of historical and literary works.
In the 16th century, Conlín O'Mulconry was a renowned Irish historian and genealogist. He compiled extensive records of Irish families and their ancestral lineages, which became invaluable resources for understanding the country's rich heritage.
Moving forward in time, Conlin Roche was an Irish-American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He served under General George Washington and participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
In more recent history, Conlin McCabe was a Canadian hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1944 to 1955. He was a skilled defenseman and won the Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1951.
These examples illustrate the long and diverse history of the given name Conlin, spanning centuries and encompassing various fields, from literature and scholarship to military service and sports. While its origins can be traced back to the Celtic cultures of Ireland and Scotland, the name has transcended its roots and found recognition across different regions and eras.
People
Conlin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Conlin 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
Conlin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Conlin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 270 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Conlin 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 1,269,461 US residents.
Is Conlin a common name?
We classify Conlin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 273 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Conlin most popular?
The single biggest year for Conlin was 2007, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Conlin is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Conlin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 288 people with the name Conlin, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,313 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 Conlin 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 Conlin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Conlin leans strongly male. 283 people counted with this name were male (97.9%), compared with 6 female bearers (2.1%). 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 Conlin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Conlin is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (4.9%). 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 Conlin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Conlin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (244 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 Conlin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Conlin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Conlin 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.
Is Conlin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Conlin 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 Conlin 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 the name Conlin?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Conlin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.