Flynn
A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "son of the redhead".
Name Census estimates that about 6,633 living Americans carry the first name Flynn. It is a predominantly male name (93.2% of registrations). The average person named Flynn today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Flynn births was 2021 (430 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Flynn. 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
- • Flynn is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
6.6K
~ 1 in 51,674 Americans
Peak year
2021
430 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#737
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Flynn
Flynn leans heavily male at 93.2% of total registrations, but 464 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Flynn as a male name
- Ranked #737 in 2024
- 351 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (418 births)
Flynn as a female name
- Ranked #6,713 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (31 births)
Popularity
Flynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Flynn from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,271 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Flynn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Flynn 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 Flynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Flynns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Flynn, while Alaska, Arkansas, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 113 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Flynn
The given name Flynn is an anglicized version of the Old Gaelic name Flann or Flann Ua Maoil Chonaire. It originated in Ireland during medieval times, around the 7th century AD. The root word "flann" is believed to have meant "ruddy" or "red-haired" in old Irish.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Flynn dates back to the 7th century when Flann Sinna, an Irish poet and historian, lived. He is known for writing the medieval Irish text "Celebration of the Wonderful Bygone Times."
During the Middle Ages, the name was prominently used by Irish nobility and rulers. Flynn Sionna, who reigned as King of Munster from 624 to 639 AD, was a notable bearer of the name. Another famous Flynn was Donnchadh mac Gilla Pádraig, King of Osraige from 1089 to 1103.
As the name spread to other parts of Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Flinn, Flin, and Flyne. In England, the name appeared as early as the 13th century, with records mentioning a William Flyne in Somerset in 1275.
Notable historical figures bearing the name Flynn include Captain John Flynn, an Irish pirate who was active in the late 17th century, and Errol Flynn, the swashbuckling Australian-American actor renowned for his roles in adventure films during the 1930s and 1940s (1909-1959).
In literature, the name was used by Irish writer James Joyce for the character Father Michael Flynn in his novel "The Dubliners." Father Flynn was a respected priest who succumbed to paralysis and faced challenges in his faith.
Other famous individuals named Flynn throughout history include American actor and singer Errol Flynn (1909-1959), Irish writer Brian Flynn (1952-), and Australian cricketer Nathan Flynn (1974-).
People
Flynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Flynn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Flynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Flynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,633 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Flynn 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 51,674 US residents.
Is Flynn a common name?
We classify Flynn as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,842 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Flynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Flynn was 2021, when 430 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Flynn is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Flynn a male name?
Yes, 93.2% of people registered as Flynn 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.