Lucyle
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "light" or "bringer of light".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Lucyle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lucyle today is around 98 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lucyle births was 1916 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lucyle. 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
- • The typical person named Lucyle is about 98 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lucyles were born before 1938.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Lucyle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1916
20 babies that year
Average age
98
years old
1928 SSA rank
#4,509
Tracked since 1900
Popularity
Lucyle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lucyle from the 1900s through to the 1920s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 139 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Lucyle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lucyle 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 Lucyle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lucyles live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lucyle
The name Lucyle is a feminine given name of English origin. It is a combination of the Latin name Lucia, meaning "light" or "lucid," and the suffix "-yle," which is believed to have been derived from the Greek word "hyle," meaning "wood" or "matter."
The earliest recorded use of the name Lucyle dates back to the late 19th century in England and parts of the United States. It gained popularity during this period as a variant of the more common name Lucy.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Lucyle was Lucyle Dupin (1888-1965), an American actress and playwright who was active in the early 20th century. She is best known for her work in vaudeville and on Broadway.
Another prominent individual named Lucyle was Lucyle Landers (1898-1979), an American painter and art teacher who was part of the California Plein Air Movement. Her paintings often depicted scenes of rural life and landscapes in California.
In the literary world, Lucyle Wolftrail (1889-1983) was an American author and poet who wrote extensively about Native American culture and traditions. Her works aimed to preserve and promote the heritage of various indigenous tribes.
Lucyle Godbold (1900-1991) was an American educator and administrator who served as the first woman president of Louisiana Polytechnic Institute (now Louisiana Tech University) from 1941 to 1962. She was a pioneer in higher education and played a significant role in shaping the institution during her tenure.
Lucyle Hook (1913-1992) was an American operatic soprano who performed with various opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was known for her portrayal of roles in operas by composers such as Puccini and Verdi.
While the name Lucyle is not as common today as it once was, it remains a unique and historically significant name with roots in both Latin and Greek origins, reflecting the intertwining of different cultures and languages over time.
People
Lucyle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lucyle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lucyle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lucyle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lucyle 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Lucyle a common name?
We classify Lucyle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 240 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lucyle most popular?
The single biggest year for Lucyle was 1916, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lucyle is about 98 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Lucyle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lucyle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lucyle 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 Lucyle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lucyle 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 Lucyle 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Lucyle?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.