Railynn
A feminine name of modern invention, a portmanteau of "Rachel" and "Lynn".
Name Census estimates that about 951 living Americans carry the first name Railynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Railynn today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Railynn births was 2018 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Railynn. 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
951
~ 1 in 360,415 Americans
Peak year
2018
80 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,427
Tracked since 2001
Census
Railynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 571 people with the first name Railynn, which placed it at #18,776 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
#18,776
National first-name rank
People counted
571
571 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
48.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Railynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Railynn is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (11.7%). 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 Railynn 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 Railynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.5% · 277
- Black or African American28.2% · 161
- Hispanic or Latino11.7% · 67
- Two or more races8.2% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 8
Popularity
Railynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Railynn from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 569 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Railynn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Railynn 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 Railynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Railynns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Railynn, while Tennessee, New York, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Railynn
The name Railynn is a relatively modern invention, with no definitive historical roots or linguistic origins. It is likely a combination of the English name "Rachel" and the suffix "-lynn," which is derived from the Gaelic word "linn," meaning "pool" or "lake." However, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that this name has any direct ties to ancient cultures or languages.
While the name Railynn itself may not have a rich historical background, the components that make up the name do have some interesting connections. The name Rachel, for instance, has Hebrew origins and is mentioned in the Bible as the wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. The name Rachel is believed to have evolved from the Hebrew word "raḥel," meaning "ewe" or "female sheep."
In terms of historical figures bearing the name Railynn, there are no significant individuals recorded prior to the 20th century, as the name is a relatively modern construction. However, there are a few notable people who have carried this name in recent times:
1. Railynn Crimeni (born 1988) is a Canadian former competitive swimmer who represented Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
2. Railynn Upshaw (born 1974) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for several teams, including the Detroit Shock and the Sacramento Monarchs.
3. Railynn Boyd (born 1989) is an American singer and songwriter who rose to prominence as a contestant on the ninth season of the reality television show "American Idol" in 2010.
4. Railynn Bratten (born 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who has played for the Collingwood Football Club in the AFL Women's competition since 2019.
5. Railynn Parris (born 1997) is a British actress and model who has appeared in several television shows and films, including the Netflix series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."
While the name Railynn may lack a deep historical lineage, it has gained some popularity in recent decades, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, its lack of clear etymological roots means that its meaning and significance remain largely open to interpretation.
People
Railynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Railynn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Railynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Railynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 951 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Railynn 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 360,415 US residents.
Is Railynn a common name?
We classify Railynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 958 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Railynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Railynn was 2018, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Railynn is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Railynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 571 people with the name Railynn, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,776 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 Railynn 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 Railynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Railynn appears almost entirely female. Of the 567 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 Railynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Railynn is White at 48.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Hispanic (11.7%). 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 Railynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Railynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.5% (277 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 Railynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Railynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Railynn 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 Railynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Railynn 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 Railynn 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 share the name Railynn?
You can see how many people share the name Railynn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.