Jacilyn
Feminine variation of Jacqueline meaning "may God protect" or "supplanter".
Name Census estimates that about 370 living Americans carry the first name Jacilyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jacilyn today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacilyn births was 1984 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacilyn. 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
370
~ 1 in 926,363 Americans
Peak year
1984
22 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,217
Tracked since 1974
Census
Jacilyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 372 people with the first name Jacilyn, which placed it at #25,491 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
#25,491
National first-name rank
People counted
372
372 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jacilyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacilyn is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (5.6%). 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 Jacilyn 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 Jacilyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.3% · 295
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 30
- Black or African American5.6% · 21
- Two or more races4.0% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Jacilyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacilyn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 150 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacilyn 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 Jacilyn 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 Jacilyn
The name Jacilyn is a modern English variant of the French name Jacqueline, which is a feminine form of the male name Jacques. The name Jacques is derived from the Hebrew name Jacob, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows."
Jacqueline was first popularized in Medieval France, particularly among the nobility and upper classes. It is believed to have been introduced to France by the Crusaders who encountered the name Jacob during their travels to the Holy Land.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jacqueline can be found in the 13th-century French epic poem "Roman de la Rose," where a character named Jacqueline is mentioned. However, it was not until the 15th century that the name gained widespread popularity in France.
Historically, one of the most notable figures named Jacqueline was Jacqueline of Hainault (1401-1436), the Countess of Holland, Hainault, and Zeeland. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Low Countries during the early 15th century.
Another prominent figure was Jacqueline de Bueil (1516-1561), a French noblewoman known for her literary works and her influence on the French Renaissance. She was also a member of the famous literary circle of the Pléiade.
In the 20th century, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994), the wife of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, was arguably the most famous bearer of the name. Her style and elegance made her an iconic figure in American culture.
Jacqueline Cochran (1906-1980) was an American pioneer aviator and one of the most influential women in the field of aviation. She was the first woman to break the sound barrier and held numerous altitude and speed records.
Jacilyn, as a variant spelling of Jacqueline, emerged in the late 20th century and has gained popularity in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States. While not as common as the traditional spelling, it offers a unique and modern twist on the classic French name.
People
Jacilyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacilyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jacilyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacilyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 370 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacilyn 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 926,363 US residents.
Is Jacilyn a common name?
We classify Jacilyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 386 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacilyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacilyn was 1984, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacilyn is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jacilyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 372 people with the name Jacilyn, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,491 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 Jacilyn 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 Jacilyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jacilyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 379 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Jacilyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacilyn is White at 79.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (5.6%). 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 Jacilyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jacilyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.3% (295 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 Jacilyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jacilyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacilyn 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.
Is Jacilyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jacilyn 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 Jacilyn 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 are called Jacilyn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.