Hylan
A variant of the Irish surname meaning "streamer" or "wanderer".
Name Census estimates that about 54 living Americans carry the first name Hylan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hylan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hylan births was 2024 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hylan. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hylan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
54
~ 1 in 6,347,303 Americans
Peak year
2024
8 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,301
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Hylan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hylan from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 28 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hylan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hylan 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 Hylan 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 Hylan
The given name Hylan has its roots in the Celtic languages, specifically in the Brythonic branch. It is believed to have originated in the 5th or 6th century AD, during the period when the Celtic Britons were inhabiting parts of what is now England, Wales, and southern Scotland. The name Hylan is derived from the ancient Brythonic word "helyn," which means "willow" or "willow tree."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Hylan can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional stories and legends from medieval Wales. In these texts, Hylan is mentioned as the name of a legendary warrior who fought against the invading Saxons.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hylan was fairly common among the Welsh and Cornish populations. It is believed that several minor nobles and landowners bore this name during this period, although specific records are scarce.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Hylan Dda (Hylan the Good) was a respected judge and legal scholar in Wales. He is credited with codifying and reforming the Welsh law system, which had its roots in ancient Celtic traditions.
Another historical figure with the name Hylan was Hylan Vaughan, a Welsh poet and writer who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is best known for his collection of poems and writings that celebrated Welsh culture and language.
In the 19th century, a prominent American politician named Hylan B. Brumbaugh (1863-1952) served as the Mayor of New York City from 1918 to 1925. His unusual first name, Hylan, was a nod to his Welsh ancestry.
More recently, Hylan E. Lewis (1905-1986) was an American tennis player who won several Grand Slam titles in the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in California but had Welsh roots, which likely inspired his unique first name.
While not as common as it once was, the name Hylan has persisted throughout history, primarily among individuals with Welsh or Cornish heritage. Its connection to the ancient Celtic languages and the willow tree has given it a sense of natural and historical significance.
People
Hylan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hylan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hylan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hylan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 54 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hylan 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 6,347,303 US residents.
Is Hylan a common name?
We classify Hylan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 69 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hylan most popular?
The single biggest year for Hylan was 2024, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hylan is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hylan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hylan 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.