Yle
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning, potentially derived from French.
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Yle. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yle today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yle births was 1987 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yle. 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 Yle. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
1987
7 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1988 SSA rank
#8,473
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Yle: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Yle 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 Yle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 17 | 0 | 17 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Yle
The given name Yle is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples who inhabited Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe during the Viking Age (approximately 800-1050 AD). The name Yle is thought to be derived from the Norse word "ýlr," which means "dusk" or "twilight."
In ancient Norse mythology, Yle was mentioned as one of the primordial giants who existed before the creation of the world. According to the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse poems, Yle was the grandfather of Odin, the chief god in Norse mythology. The name Yle was also associated with fertility and growth, as it was believed that the first humans were formed from the body of the giant Yle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yle can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which are a collection of narratives written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas often featured characters with names derived from Old Norse, including Yle.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Yle. One of the earliest was Yle Gudmundsson (c. 1150-1220), an Icelandic chieftain and lawspeaker who played a significant role in the Sturlung Age, a period of civil war in Iceland.
Another prominent figure was Yle Magnusson (c. 1300-1370), a Norwegian nobleman and military leader who served as the Earl of Orkney and Shetland during the 14th century.
In the 16th century, Yle Arvidsson (c. 1500-1560) was a Swedish clergyman and scholar who translated the Bible into Swedish.
During the 17th century, Yle Jöransson Gyllenhielm (1625-1680) was a Swedish military officer and diplomat who served as the Governor of Swedish Livonia.
In the 19th century, Yle Kristiansson (1820-1890) was a Norwegian writer and poet who contributed to the Romantic Nationalist movement in Norway.
While the name Yle has its roots in ancient Norse culture, it has been used across various regions and time periods, reflecting its enduring connection to the rich tapestry of history and mythology.
People
Yle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yle 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 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Yle a common name?
We classify Yle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 17 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yle most popular?
The single biggest year for Yle was 1987, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yle is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Yle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yle a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yle 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.
Is Yle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yle 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 Yle 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Yle?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.