Jacelyn
A feminine name of French origin meaning "supplanter" or "to follow after".
Name Census estimates that about 2,865 living Americans carry the first name Jacelyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jacelyn today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacelyn births was 2013 (127 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacelyn. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jacelyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 119,635 Americans
Peak year
2013
127 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,400
Tracked since 1949
Census
Jacelyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,235 people with the first name Jacelyn, which placed it at #6,976 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
#6,976
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,235 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jacelyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacelyn is White at 53.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.8%) and Black (14.1%). 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 Jacelyn 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 Jacelyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.1% · 1,186
- Hispanic or Latino18.8% · 421
- Black or African American14.1% · 315
- Two or more races6.5% · 145
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 70
Popularity
Jacelyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacelyn from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 978 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacelyn 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 Jacelyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jacelyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, California recorded the most babies named Jacelyn, while Washington, New Mexico, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jacelyn
Jacelyn is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the French name Jacqueline, which itself is a diminutive form of the male name Jacques. The name Jacques ultimately derives from the Hebrew name Jacob, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows." The name Jacelyn emerged as a variant spelling in the late 20th century.
The name Jacqueline has a long history, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It was popularized in France during the 12th century and was borne by several notable women, including Saint Jacqueline de Montfort (1210-1252), a French nun and mystic.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jacelyn can be found in the birth records of the early 19th century. In 1815, a Jacelyn Brown was born in London, England. Another early bearer of the name was Jacelyn Halliday (1846-1919), an American author and editor from Massachusetts.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jacelyn. Jacelyn Trevanian (1925-1997) was an American painter and sculptor known for her abstract expressionist works. Jacelyn Reilly (born 1951) is a Canadian actress best known for her roles in television series such as "The Beachcombers" and "Street Legal."
In the literary world, Jacelyn Blanchard (1956-2012) was an American author and poet who published several collections of poetry and short stories. Jacelyn Biondo (born 1974) is a British actress and model who has appeared in various television shows and films.
Another notable Jacelyn is Jacelyn Rendleman (born 1988), an American musician and singer-songwriter. She has released several albums and has gained popularity in the indie rock scene.
While the name Jacelyn has its roots in England and France, it has gained popularity across various cultures and regions over the years, with bearers of the name making their mark in diverse fields such as art, literature, entertainment, and music.
People
Jacelyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacelyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jacelyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacelyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,865 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacelyn 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 119,635 US residents.
Is Jacelyn a common name?
We classify Jacelyn as "Rare". It ranks above 95% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,962 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacelyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacelyn was 2013, when 127 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacelyn is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jacelyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,235 people with the name Jacelyn, or 0.74 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,976 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 Jacelyn 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 Jacelyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jacelyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,237 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Jacelyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacelyn is White at 53.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.8%) and Black (14.1%). 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 Jacelyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jacelyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.1% (1,186 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 Jacelyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jacelyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacelyn 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 Jacelyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jacelyn 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 Jacelyn 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 common is the name Jacelyn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.