Waylan
A masculine name potentially derived from Welsh elements meaning "way-leading" or "path-finder".
Name Census estimates that about 1,168 living Americans carry the first name Waylan. It is a predominantly male name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Waylan today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waylan births was 2019 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waylan. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 293,454 Americans
Peak year
2019
65 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,700
Tracked since 1923
Gender
Gender distribution for Waylan
Out of the 1,248 babies given the name Waylan since 1880, 99.1% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Waylan as a male name
- Ranked #2,700 in 2024
- 49 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (60 births)
Waylan as a female name
- Ranked #17,372 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2019 (6 births)
Popularity
Waylan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Waylan from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 436 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Waylan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Waylan 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 Waylan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Waylans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Waylan, while Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Waylan
The name Waylan is believed to have originated from the Old English language, derived from the combination of the words "weg" meaning "path" or "way" and "land" meaning "land" or "territory." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a well-traveled path or road.
During the Anglo-Saxon period, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th centuries in what is now England, names often held meaningful connotations related to a person's character, occupation, or location. The name Waylan likely emerged during this time as a descriptive moniker for individuals residing along major routes or pathways.
While the name Waylan does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Old English roots can be traced back to the Germanic languages that influenced the development of the English language during the early medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Waylan appears in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this record, a landowner named Waylan is listed as holding property in the county of Wiltshire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Waylan. One prominent figure was Waylan Smithers (1884-1962), a British botanist and explorer who conducted extensive research on plant species in the Amazon rainforest. His contributions to the field of plant taxonomy earned him recognition from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew.
Another individual of note was Waylan Jennings (1901-1978), an American artist renowned for his vivid landscape paintings depicting the rugged beauty of the American West. His works are featured in numerous art galleries and museums across the United States.
In the realm of literature, Waylan Fairchild (1923-1997) was an acclaimed novelist and poet whose works explored themes of identity, family, and the complexities of human relationships. His novel "The Wayward Son" received critical acclaim and was nominated for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1968.
The world of sports also saw a notable figure named Waylan in Waylan Rutledge (1941-2005), a former professional baseball player who played as a catcher for several Major League Baseball teams, including the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, during the 1960s and 1970s.
Lastly, Waylan Everett (1958-2021) was a prominent civil rights activist and community organizer who dedicated his life to advocating for racial equality and social justice. His tireless efforts earned him numerous accolades, including the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award in 2010.
People
Waylan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waylan 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
Waylan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waylan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,168 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waylan 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 293,454 US residents.
Is Waylan a common name?
We classify Waylan as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,248 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Waylan most popular?
The single biggest year for Waylan was 2019, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waylan is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Waylan a male name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Waylan 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.