Daylen
A modern masculine name possibly derived from Dylan or Dallin.
Name Census estimates that about 4,160 living Americans carry the first name Daylen. It is a predominantly male name (92.1% of registrations). The average person named Daylen today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daylen births was 2010 (228 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daylen. 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 Daylen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Daylen is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.2K
~ 1 in 82,393 Americans
Peak year
2010
228 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,341
Tracked since 1979
Census
Daylen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,071 people with the first name Daylen, which placed it at #5,546 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
#5,546
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,071 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
39.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daylen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daylen is Black at 39.7%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (16.6%). 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 Daylen 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 Daylen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American39.7% · 1,220
- White30.0% · 921
- Hispanic or Latino16.6% · 511
- Two or more races9.5% · 293
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 56
Gender
Gender distribution for Daylen
Daylen leans heavily male at 92.1% of total registrations, but 333 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Daylen as a male name
- Ranked #1,341 in 2024
- 142 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (201 births)
Daylen as a female name
- Ranked #12,441 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (27 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daylen leans strongly male. 2,646 people counted with this name were male (86.3%), compared with 420 female bearers (13.7%).
Popularity
Daylen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daylen from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,677 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Daylen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daylen 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 Daylen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daylens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Daylen, while Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 95 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Daylen
The name Daylen is a relatively modern name with origins that are not entirely clear. It is believed to have emerged as a variant of the name Dalen, which is a combination of the Germanic elements "dal" meaning "valley" and the suffix "-en" indicating "little." Some suggest that the prefix "Day-" was added to create a more distinctive name, potentially inspired by the English word "day."
While the name Daylen does not have a long historical lineage, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name. One of the earliest recorded instances is Daylen Maya, an American poet and activist born in 1976. Her work often explored themes of identity, social justice, and the experiences of marginalized communities.
Another prominent figure is Daylen Robinson, an American football player born in 1992. He played as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for teams like the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals.
In the world of music, Daylen Scissorhands is the stage name of an American rapper and songwriter born in 1991. He is known for his unique blend of hip-hop and alternative rock styles.
Daylen Viljoen, born in 1994, is a South African cricketer who has represented his country in international matches. He is a right-arm fast bowler known for his pace and accuracy.
Lastly, Daylen Weinberg is a Canadian actor born in 1996. He has appeared in several television shows and films, including the popular series "Orphan Black" and the movie "It" (2017).
While the name Daylen may not have a deep historical lineage, it has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly in North America and parts of Europe. Its distinct sound and potential connection to the concept of "day" have likely contributed to its appeal as a modern given name.
People
Daylen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daylen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Daylen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daylen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,160 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daylen 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 82,393 US residents.
Is Daylen a common name?
We classify Daylen as "Rare". It ranks above 96.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,205 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daylen most popular?
The single biggest year for Daylen was 2010, when 228 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daylen is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Daylen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,071 people with the name Daylen, or 1.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,546 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 Daylen 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 Daylen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daylen leans strongly male. 2,646 people counted with this name were male (86.3%), compared with 420 female bearers (13.7%). 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 Daylen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daylen is Black at 39.7%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (16.6%). 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 Daylen most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Daylen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.7% (1,220 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 Daylen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daylen a male name?
Yes, 92.1% of people registered as Daylen 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 Daylen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daylen 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 Daylen 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 Daylen?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Daylen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.