Jerilynn
A feminine name of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from English/French components.
Name Census estimates that about 904 living Americans carry the first name Jerilynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jerilynn today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jerilynn births was 1942 (162 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jerilynn. 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
904
~ 1 in 379,153 Americans
Peak year
1942
162 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,192
Tracked since 1941
Census
Jerilynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,185 people with the first name Jerilynn, which placed it at #10,994 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
#10,994
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jerilynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerilynn is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Jerilynn 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 Jerilynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.1% · 961
- Black or African American5.6% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 32
- Two or more races2.3% · 27
Popularity
Jerilynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jerilynn from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 444 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jerilynn 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 Jerilynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jerilynns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jerilynn, while Wisconsin, Texas, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jerilynn
The name Jerilynn is a relatively modern combination of the names Jeri and Lynn. It is an English name that emerged in the mid-20th century, likely in the United States or Canada.
The first part of the name, Jeri, is a diminutive form of the name Geraldine, which is derived from the Germanic elements ger, meaning "spear," and wald, meaning "ruler." Geraldine was a popular name in the Middle Ages and was borne by various historical figures, such as Geraldine Disborough (1889-1968), an English actress and singer.
The second part of the name, Lynn, is derived from the Celtic word for "lake" or "pool," and it was originally a surname before becoming a popular given name in the 20th century. Lynn has been used as a first name for both males and females.
While the name Jerilynn itself does not have a long historical record, it was likely influenced by the popularity of similar-sounding names like Jerilyn, Jerrilyn, and Jerrilynn in the mid-20th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jerilynn was Jerilynn Dudley (born 1945), an American actress known for her roles in television shows like The Waltons and The Dukes of Hazzard.
Another notable Jerilynn was Jerilynn Stephens (1954-2018), an American singer and actress who performed with the Motown group The Andantes and had a successful solo career. Jerilynn Loggers (born 1953) is a Canadian painter and sculptor known for her abstract works.
Jerilynn Crockett (born 1964) is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur, while Jerilynn Webster (born 1966) is a Canadian writer and journalist who has published several books and articles on travel and outdoor adventure.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Jerilynn throughout history. While it may not have a long and storied past like some other names, Jerilynn has gained popularity in recent decades as a unique and melodic combination of two established names.
People
Jerilynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jerilynn 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
Jerilynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jerilynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 904 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jerilynn 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 379,153 US residents.
Is Jerilynn a common name?
We classify Jerilynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,286 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jerilynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jerilynn was 1942, when 162 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jerilynn is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jerilynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,185 people with the name Jerilynn, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,994 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 Jerilynn 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 Jerilynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jerilynn appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,189 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Jerilynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerilynn is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (5.6%) and Hispanic (5.4%). 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 Jerilynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jerilynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (961 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 Jerilynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jerilynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jerilynn 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 Jerilynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jerilynn 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 Jerilynn 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 named Jerilynn?
See how many people share the name Jerilynn on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.