Shalynn
A name of American origin meaning "from the shaly meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 1,442 living Americans carry the first name Shalynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shalynn today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shalynn births was 1995 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shalynn. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 237,694 Americans
Peak year
1995
65 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2022 SSA rank
#15,032
Tracked since 1969
Census
Shalynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,164 people with the first name Shalynn, which placed it at #11,155 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
#11,155
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,164 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shalynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalynn is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (8.2%). 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 Shalynn 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 Shalynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.2% · 712
- Black or African American20.5% · 239
- Two or more races8.2% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 72
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 17
Popularity
Shalynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shalynn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 482 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shalynn 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 Shalynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shalynns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. California, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Shalynn, while Wisconsin, Oregon, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shalynn
The name Shalynn is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the late 20th century as a combination of the names Shalyn and Lynn. It does not have any clear linguistic or cultural roots in a specific language or region. The name is an example of the growing trend in recent decades of creating new, unique names by blending existing names or adding creative spellings.
While the name Shalynn itself does not have a long historical record, some of its potential root names do have an interesting background. The name Shalyn may be a variant of the Irish name Shailyn or Shaylyn, which is derived from the Gaelic word "sealadh" meaning "a hunt" or "to hunt." This could suggest connections to nature, outdoor activities, or even warrior culture.
The name Lynn, which makes up the latter part of Shalynn, has its origins in the Welsh name "Llyn," meaning "lake" or "pool." It was initially used as a surname in English-speaking regions but later became a popular given name, particularly for girls, in the 20th century. The name Lynn may have been inspired by the picturesque lakes and natural landscapes of Wales.
As a relatively new name, there are no recorded instances of the name Shalynn appearing in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records from earlier eras. However, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name in more recent times:
1. Shalynn Jacobs (born in 1987) is an American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA.
2. Shalynn Parks (born in 1992) is an American professional soccer player who has played for various teams in the National Women's Soccer League.
3. Shalynn Doty (born in 1994) is an American singer and songwriter who gained recognition through her appearances on the reality TV show "The Voice" in 2015.
4. Shalynn Simmons (born in 1982) is an American poet and author, known for her works exploring themes of identity, race, and social justice.
5. Shalynn Sampson (born in 1988) is a Canadian actress and model who has appeared in various television shows and films.
While the name Shalynn may not have a rich historical background, its modern popularity reflects the creativity and uniqueness that many parents seek when naming their children in contemporary times.
People
Shalynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shalynn 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
Shalynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shalynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,442 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shalynn 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 237,694 US residents.
Is Shalynn a common name?
We classify Shalynn as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,488 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shalynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Shalynn was 1995, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shalynn is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shalynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,164 people with the name Shalynn, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,155 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 Shalynn 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 Shalynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shalynn appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,165 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Shalynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shalynn is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (8.2%). 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 Shalynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shalynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.2% (712 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 Shalynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shalynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shalynn 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 Shalynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shalynn 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 Shalynn 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 have Shalynn as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Shalynn, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.