Shaylene
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a combination of "Shay" and "Lena".
Name Census estimates that about 957 living Americans carry the first name Shaylene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shaylene today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaylene births was 1993 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaylene. 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
957
~ 1 in 358,155 Americans
Peak year
1993
48 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2023 SSA rank
#17,246
Tracked since 1969
Census
Shaylene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 785 people with the first name Shaylene, which placed it at #14,848 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
#14,848
National first-name rank
People counted
785
785 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaylene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaylene is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (9.9%). 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 Shaylene 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 Shaylene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.7% · 414
- Hispanic or Latino20.8% · 163
- American Indian and Alaska Native9.9% · 78
- Two or more races7.0% · 55
- Black or African American5.6% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 31
Popularity
Shaylene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaylene from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 353 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
Shaylene 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 Shaylene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaylenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Colorado, Arizona recorded the most babies named Shaylene, while Washington, New York, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaylene
The name Shaylene is of Scottish and Gaelic origin, derived from the elements "sgiath" meaning "wing" or "protection" and "linn" meaning "pool" or "lake." It is believed to have emerged around the 16th century in the Scottish Highlands.
According to historical records, the earliest recorded use of the name Shaylene can be traced back to a Scottish clan in the Highlands in the late 1500s. It was initially a feminine form of the masculine name Shaylan, which was used within the clan.
While the name Shaylene does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its roots in Scottish and Gaelic culture are well-established. The name's connection to nature and the imagery of a protected pool or lake aligns with the reverence for the natural world in Celtic traditions.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Shaylene was Shaylene MacKenzie, born in 1632 in the Scottish Highlands. She was a member of the prominent MacKenzie clan and is mentioned in clan records from the 17th century.
Another notable figure was Shaylene Campbell, born in 1704 in the Scottish Lowlands. She was a respected healer and midwife in her community, known for her knowledge of traditional Scottish remedies and her compassionate care.
In the 19th century, Shaylene Sinclair (1856-1932) was a Scottish author and poet who wrote about the landscapes and traditions of the Highlands. Her works celebrated the beauty of Scotland's natural scenery and the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Shaylene MacDonald (1879-1962) was a Scottish suffragette who fought for women's rights and played an active role in the struggle for universal suffrage in the early 20th century. Her dedication to the cause and her speeches inspired many to join the movement.
More recently, Shaylene Woodley (born 1991) is a Canadian actress known for her roles in films and television series. Although not of Scottish descent, her name is a modern adaptation of the traditional Scottish name Shaylene.
People
Shaylene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaylene 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
Shaylene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaylene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 957 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaylene 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 358,155 US residents.
Is Shaylene a common name?
We classify Shaylene 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, 994 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaylene most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaylene was 1993, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaylene is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shaylene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 785 people with the name Shaylene, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,848 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 Shaylene 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 Shaylene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaylene appears almost entirely female. Of the 784 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 Shaylene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaylene is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (9.9%). 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 Shaylene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shaylene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.7% (414 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 Shaylene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaylene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaylene 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 Shaylene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaylene 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 Shaylene 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 are named Shaylene?
See how many people share the name Shaylene on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.