Keelyn
A variant of Caitlin, this feminine name has Irish origins meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 1,137 living Americans carry the first name Keelyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 74.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Keelyn today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keelyn births was 2010 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keelyn. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 301,455 Americans
Peak year
2010
84 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,354
Tracked since 1973
Gender
Gender distribution for Keelyn
Keelyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,154 total registrations, 297 (25.7%) were male and 857 (74.3%) were female.
Keelyn as a male name
- Ranked #9,354 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2011 (19 births)
Keelyn as a female name
- Ranked #10,650 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (70 births)
Popularity
Keelyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Keelyn 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 474 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Keelyn 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 Keelyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Keelyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Florida recorded the most babies named Keelyn, while Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Keelyn
The name Keelyn is of Irish and Gaelic origin, dating back to the medieval period in Ireland. It is derived from the old Irish word "caolán," which means "slender" or "slim." This name was initially given to children, particularly girls, who were perceived as having a delicate or graceful physique.
In ancient Irish folklore and mythology, there are references to characters with names similar to Keelyn, such as Caoilfhionn, a beautiful fairy princess from the Tuatha Dé Danann, the mythological race of supernatural beings in Irish mythology. However, the name Keelyn itself does not appear in any major historical texts or religious scriptures.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Keelyn can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries in Ireland, where it was primarily used as a feminine name. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Keelyn O'Connor, born in 1587 in County Galway, Ireland. She was a renowned healer and herbalist in her local community.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Keelyn. One such person was Keelyn Fitzgerald (1765-1845), an Irish poet and dramatist who gained recognition for her works that celebrated Irish culture and traditions. Another notable figure was Keelyn MacKenzie (1812-1879), a Scottish explorer and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of flora and fauna in the Americas.
In the 19th century, Keelyn Byrne (1837-1903) was an influential Irish educator and advocate for women's rights. She founded several schools in Dublin and campaigned for equal educational opportunities for girls.
Moving into the 20th century, Keelyn O'Malley (1901-1985) was an Irish-American artist and sculptor known for her intricate bronze and stone works depicting scenes from Irish mythology and folklore.
While the name Keelyn has its roots in Ireland, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, particularly in areas with Irish diaspora communities. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, especially in more recent times, contributing to its unique and distinctive character.
People
Keelyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keelyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Keelyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keelyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,137 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keelyn 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 301,455 US residents.
Is Keelyn a common name?
We classify Keelyn as "Rare". It ranks above 90.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keelyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Keelyn was 2010, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keelyn is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Keelyn a female name?
Yes, 74.3% of people registered as Keelyn 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.
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.