Wailyn
An invented name perhaps influenced by the Welsh names Gwendolen or Gwenllian.
Name Census estimates that about 27 living Americans carry the first name Wailyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Wailyn today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wailyn births was 2023 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wailyn. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wailyn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
27
~ 1 in 12,694,605 Americans
Peak year
2023
11 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,099
Tracked since 2014
Gender
Gender distribution for Wailyn
Wailyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 27 total registrations, 21 (77.8%) were male and 6 (22.2%) were female.
Wailyn as a male name
- Ranked #14,099 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (6 births)
Wailyn as a female name
- Ranked #15,055 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (6 births)
Popularity
Wailyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wailyn from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 16 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wailyn 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 Wailyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wailyn
The name Wailyn has its origins in the ancient Celtic language and culture. It is derived from the Old Celtic word "wailos," which means "strong" or "brave." The name first appeared in historical records around the 5th century CE in the region that is now known as Wales and parts of western England.
In its early usage, Wailyn was a name given to male children born into Celtic warrior clans. It was believed that bestowing this name upon a child would imbue them with the qualities of strength, courage, and resilience – traits that were highly valued in the warrior culture of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wailyn can be found in the ancient Welsh epic poem "Y Gododdin," which recounts the battle of Catraeth (now Catterick, North Yorkshire) in the late 6th century CE. The poem mentions a warrior named Wailyn ap Gwalchmai, who is celebrated for his bravery and valor on the battlefield.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Wailyn remained popular among the Celtic populations of Britain, particularly in Wales and Cornwall. Notable historical figures who bore this name include Wailyn ap Rhys (c. 1150-1216), a Welsh prince and military leader who fought against the Norman invaders, and Wailyn ap Owain (c. 1280-1349), a renowned Welsh poet and bard.
In the 16th century, the name Wailyn gained some popularity in Scotland, possibly due to the influence of Celtic culture and traditions in the region. One of the most famous Scots to bear this name was Wailyn MacLeod (1570-1628), a skilled warrior and clan chief who played a significant role in the Scottish clan wars of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Another notable individual with the name Wailyn was Wailyn O'Donnell (1642-1718), an Irish chieftain and military commander who fought against the English during the Williamite War in Ireland from 1689 to 1691.
While the name Wailyn has faded in popularity over the centuries, it continues to hold a special significance within Celtic cultures, particularly in Wales and Cornwall, where it is still occasionally bestowed upon male children as a way to honor their ancestral heritage and the virtues of strength, bravery, and resilience.
People
Wailyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wailyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wailyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wailyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wailyn 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 12,694,605 US residents.
Is Wailyn a common name?
We classify Wailyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 44.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 27 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wailyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Wailyn was 2023, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wailyn is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wailyn a male name?
Yes, 77.8% of people registered as Wailyn in the SSA data are male. 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.