Robyn
A feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "famed brightness" or "bright fame".
Name Census estimates that about 55,966 living Americans carry the first name Robyn. It is a predominantly female name (98.1% of registrations). The average person named Robyn today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Robyn births was 1964 (1,907 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Robyn. 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
- • Although Robyn is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 1,231 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
56K
~ 1 in 6,124 Americans
Peak year
1964
1,907 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,296
Tracked since 1921
Gender
Gender distribution for Robyn
Robyn leans heavily female at 98.1% of total registrations, but 1,231 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Robyn as a male name
- Ranked #10,659 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1961 (42 births)
Robyn as a female name
- Ranked #1,296 in 2024
- 178 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1964 (1,882 births)
Popularity
Robyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Robyn from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 15,353 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Robyn 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 Robyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Robyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Robyn, while Vermont, Delaware, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,180 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Robyn
The name Robyn is an English given name derived from the Germanic name Robin, which itself comes from the Old French word "robin" meaning "bright fame" or "bright renown." The name Robin is thought to have originated as a nickname for someone with a ruddy complexion or reddish-brown hair color, similar to the red-breasted robin bird.
In early medieval times, the name Robin was primarily a masculine name, but by the late Middle Ages, it began to be used as a feminine name as well. The spelling variation Robyn emerged as a distinctly feminine form of the name, first appearing in records from the 16th century.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Robyn was Robyn Hode, a legendary outlaw from English folklore, who is often associated with the Robin Hood tales that date back to at least the 14th century. While the exact origins of the Robin Hood legend are unclear, the name Robyn Hode was recorded in various medieval ballads and stories.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the name Robyn was Robyn Armin, an English comedian and actor who was a member of Shakespeare's company of players. Armin was born around 1555 and is credited with contributing to several of Shakespeare's plays.
Another historical figure named Robyn was Robyn Jeffs, an English Puritan minister and theologian who lived from 1610 to 1677. He was a prominent figure in the religious conflicts of the English Civil War era and authored several influential theological works.
In the 18th century, Robyn Adair was a Scottish noblewoman and poet who lived from 1720 to 1804. She is best known for her collection of poems titled "Muse's Instruction," which was published in 1773.
During the 19th century, Robyn Denny was a British painter and printmaker who was a part of the British Pop Art movement. She was born in 1930 and is renowned for her abstract compositions, which often incorporated elements of popular culture and advertising imagery.
These are just a few examples of historical figures who bore the name Robyn, demonstrating its long-standing use as a feminine given name over the centuries, particularly in English-speaking cultures.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Robyn
People
Robyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Robyn 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
Robyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Robyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55,966 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Robyn 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 6,124 US residents.
Is Robyn a common name?
We classify Robyn as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 64,443 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Robyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Robyn was 1964, when 1,907 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Robyn is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Robyn a female name?
Yes, 98.1% of people registered as Robyn 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.