Lynelle
A feminine name of English origin meaning "linden tree valley".
Name Census estimates that about 1,948 living Americans carry the first name Lynelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lynelle today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lynelle births was 1971 (83 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lynelle. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 175,952 Americans
Peak year
1971
83 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,279
Tracked since 1927
Census
Lynelle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,002 people with the first name Lynelle, which placed it at #7,572 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
#7,572
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
2,002 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lynelle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lynelle is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Lynelle 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 Lynelle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.6% · 1,394
- Black or African American12.4% · 249
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 131
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.7% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 80
- Two or more races2.6% · 53
Popularity
Lynelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lynelle from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 614 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lynelle 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 Lynelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lynelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Lynelle, while Iowa, Washington, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lynelle
Lynelle is a feminine given name that originated from the Old French language. It is believed to have been derived from the Old French word "lin," which means flax or linen, and the diminutive suffix "-elle," denoting a smaller or more delicate version of something. The name can therefore be interpreted as "little flax" or "little linen."
While the name's exact origin and earliest recorded use are uncertain, it is thought to have emerged during the Middle Ages in parts of what is now modern-day France. Flax was an essential crop during this period, widely cultivated for its fibers used in producing linen cloth, making the name a reflection of the era's agricultural and textile traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Lynelle can be found in the chronicles of a French noble family from the 14th century. The chronicles mention a young woman named Lynelle de Montfort, who lived between 1320 and 1387. She was the daughter of a minor nobleman and is noted for her involvement in a local dispute over land rights.
In the 16th century, a French poet and playwright named Lynelle Durand (1525-1591) gained recognition for her works that explored themes of love, nature, and the experiences of women in her era. Her poetry was widely circulated and admired among literary circles in Paris.
Another notable figure with the name Lynelle was Lynelle Beaumont (1678-1744), a French painter renowned for her intricate portraits and landscapes. She was commissioned by several aristocratic families and even received commissions from the French royal court during her lifetime.
In the 19th century, Lynelle Dubois (1832-1911) was a prominent French educator and advocate for women's rights. She established several schools for girls in Paris and was a vocal supporter of equal educational opportunities for women.
A more recent historical figure was Lynelle Charpentier (1887-1964), a French aviator and one of the first women to obtain a pilot's license in France. She participated in several early air races and competitions, breaking several distance and endurance records for female pilots in the 1920s and 1930s.
While the name Lynelle has French origins, it has also been adopted and used in various English-speaking countries over the centuries, albeit with varying spellings and pronunciations. However, the name retains its connection to its linguistic roots and the historical significance of flax and linen production in the regions where it originated.
People
Lynelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lynelle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lynelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lynelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,948 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lynelle 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 175,952 US residents.
Is Lynelle a common name?
We classify Lynelle as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,310 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lynelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Lynelle was 1971, when 83 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lynelle is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lynelle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,002 people with the name Lynelle, or 0.66 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,572 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 Lynelle 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 Lynelle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lynelle leans strongly female. 1,973 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 29 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Lynelle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lynelle is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Lynelle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lynelle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.6% (1,394 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 Lynelle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lynelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lynelle 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 Lynelle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lynelle 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 Lynelle 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 Lynelle as a first name?
See how many Americans are named Lynelle on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.