Shalyn
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "from the old path".
Name Census estimates that about 1,921 living Americans carry the first name Shalyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shalyn today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalyn births was 2000 (98 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalyn. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 178,425 Americans
Peak year
2000
98 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2018 SSA rank
#15,380
Tracked since 1966
Popularity
Shalyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalyn from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 676 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shalyn 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 Shalyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Shalyn, while West Virginia, Utah, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shalyn
The name Shalyn is a modern English variant of the name Shayla or Shaylyn, which is derived from the Hebrew name Shailah, meaning "to ask" or "to question." The name Shailah itself is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Shalom, meaning "peace."
Shalyn is a relatively new name that first emerged in the late 20th century, primarily in English-speaking countries. While the name does not have a long historical lineage, it reflects the growing popularity of combining traditional names with modern spellings and variations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shalyn can be found in the United States in the late 1970s. However, it did not gain widespread use until the 1990s and early 2000s.
Although the name Shalyn does not have a rich historical background, there are a few notable individuals who have carried this name throughout the years. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shalyn was Shalyn Brewer, an American actress born in 1980, known for her roles in television shows such as "ER" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Another notable individual named Shalyn was Shalyn Maher, an Australian professional basketball player who played for the Canberra Capitals in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) during the early 2000s.
In the field of literature, Shalyn Lyons is an American author and poet, known for her works exploring themes of identity, relationships, and self-discovery. She has published several collections of poetry and prose.
Shalyn Woodley is a Canadian actress and model, known for her roles in television shows and movies such as "The Lying Game" and "The Arrangement." She was born in 1991.
Shalyn Malone is an American entrepreneur and business executive, currently serving as the Chief Marketing Officer for a technology company based in Silicon Valley. She has been recognized for her contributions to the tech industry and her advocacy for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
While the name Shalyn is relatively modern and does not have a long historical trail, it has gained popularity in recent decades, reflecting the ever-evolving nature of names and the influence of different cultures and languages on naming traditions.
People
Shalyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shalyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,921 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalyn 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 178,425 US residents.
Is Shalyn a common name?
We classify Shalyn as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,992 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalyn was 2000, when 98 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalyn is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shalyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shalyn 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.