Kaylen
A feminine name of American origin meaning "beautiful meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 8,264 living Americans carry the first name Kaylen. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 84.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Kaylen today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaylen births was 2009 (489 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaylen. 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 Kaylen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
8.3K
~ 1 in 41,476 Americans
Peak year
2009
489 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,414
Tracked since 1949
Census
Kaylen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,083 people with the first name Kaylen, which placed it at #3,107 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
#3,107
National first-name rank
People counted
7.1K
7,083 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaylen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaylen is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Hispanic (17.6%). 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 Kaylen 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 Kaylen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.9% · 3,177
- Black or African American26.7% · 1,893
- Hispanic or Latino17.6% · 1,244
- Two or more races5.6% · 395
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 294
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 80
Gender
Gender distribution for Kaylen
Kaylen leans heavily female at 84.3% of total registrations, but 1,317 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kaylen as a male name
- Ranked #3,838 in 2024
- 29 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (64 births)
Kaylen as a female name
- Ranked #3,414 in 2024
- 46 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (425 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaylen leans strongly female. 6,145 people counted with this name were female (86.7%), compared with 941 male bearers (13.3%).
Popularity
Kaylen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaylen from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 3,197 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaylen 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 Kaylen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaylens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 37 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kaylen, while West Virginia, Oregon, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 145 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaylen
The name Kaylen is a modern English variant of the name Caitlin, which has its origins in the ancient Irish Gaelic language. The name Caitlin is derived from the Irish words "cath" meaning "battle" and "lín" meaning "little one." This suggests that the name may have been initially used to refer to a small but fierce warrior or someone with a fighting spirit.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as Caitlín or Caitlíona in the Irish language. It gained popularity in Ireland during the Middle Ages and was borne by several notable historical figures, including Caitlín Ní Uallacháin, a 16th-century Irish noblewoman and patron of the arts.
The name Kaylen emerged as an Anglicized variant of Caitlin, likely to make it easier for English speakers to pronounce and spell. While the exact origins of this spelling are unclear, it first appeared in the late 20th century as a modern twist on the traditional Irish name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaylen can be found in the early 1970s, when it was given to a character in the novel "The Green Ripper" by John D. MacDonald, published in 1979. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity until the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Kaylen or its variants. For example, Kaylen Tanner (born 1985) is an American actress known for her roles in television shows like "Charmed" and "CSI: Miami." Kaylen Stevenson (born 1988) is a Canadian actress and singer who has appeared in various television series and films.
Another notable figure is Kaylen Frederick (born 1985), an American actress and model who has appeared in movies like "The Final Destination" and "Scream 4." Additionally, Kaylen Zahara Holien (born 1985) is a Canadian actress known for her work in television shows like "Once Upon a Time" and "Supernatural."
While not as widely used as some other names, Kaylen has gained a significant following in recent decades, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its unique spelling and connection to the ancient Irish heritage have contributed to its appeal and popularity as a modern given name.
People
Kaylen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaylen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaylen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaylen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,264 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaylen 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 41,476 US residents.
Is Kaylen a common name?
We classify Kaylen as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 8,404 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaylen most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaylen was 2009, when 489 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaylen is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaylen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,083 people with the name Kaylen, or 2.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,107 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 Kaylen 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 Kaylen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaylen leans strongly female. 6,145 people counted with this name were female (86.7%), compared with 941 male bearers (13.3%). 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 Kaylen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaylen is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Hispanic (17.6%). 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 Kaylen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaylen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.9% (3,177 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 Kaylen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaylen a female name?
Yes, 84.3% of people registered as Kaylen 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 Kaylen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaylen 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 Kaylen 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 have the name Kaylen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.