Nylan
Unusual blend name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 639 living Americans carry the first name Nylan. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Nylan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nylan births was 2024 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nylan. 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
639
~ 1 in 536,392 Americans
Peak year
2024
54 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,510
Tracked since 1999
Gender
Gender distribution for Nylan
Nylan leans heavily male at 83.7% of total registrations, but 105 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nylan as a male name
- Ranked #2,510 in 2024
- 54 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (54 births)
Nylan as a female name
- Ranked #10,123 in 2023
- 10 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2005 (11 births)
Popularity
Nylan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nylan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 291 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nylan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nylan 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 Nylan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nylans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. North Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia recorded the most babies named Nylan, while Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nylan
The given name Nylan is of uncertain origin and meaning, with few records of its historical usage or significance. It is believed to be a modern invented name, possibly derived from a combination of syllables from various languages or created as a unique name without any specific linguistic roots.
While there are no definitive records of the name's origin, some researchers suggest that it may have been influenced by the Gaelic name Niall, which means "champion" or "cloud." However, this connection is tenuous and unconfirmed.
The earliest documented use of the name Nylan is relatively recent, with no known references in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the 20th century. This suggests that the name is a modern invention, possibly created as a unique and distinctive name in the last century or so.
In terms of notable individuals bearing the name Nylan, there are few prominent figures throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name is Nylan Vance, an American architect born in 1923, known for his contributions to mid-century modern design.
Another individual named Nylan is Nylan Pearson, an Australian professional rugby league player who played for the Parramatta Eels in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In the field of music, there is Nylan Miller, an American singer-songwriter and record producer who has collaborated with various artists in the hip-hop and R&B genres.
Nylan Banegas is a Honduran professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for Olimpia, one of the top clubs in the Honduran national league.
Lastly, Nylan Alejandro is a Venezuelan-born artist and painter known for his abstract expressionist works, which have been exhibited in galleries across Latin America and Europe.
While the name Nylan is relatively uncommon and its origins remain uncertain, these individuals have contributed to various fields, carrying this unique name throughout different parts of the world in recent times.
People
Nylan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nylan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nylan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nylan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 639 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nylan 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 536,392 US residents.
Is Nylan a common name?
We classify Nylan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 644 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nylan most popular?
The single biggest year for Nylan was 2024, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nylan is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nylan a male name?
Yes, 83.7% of people registered as Nylan 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.