Shaylin
An English feminine name derived from the Irish surname Ó Siadhail.
Name Census estimates that about 1,855 living Americans carry the first name Shaylin. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Shaylin today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaylin births was 2003 (91 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaylin. 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 Shaylin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 184,773 Americans
Peak year
2003
91 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2011 SSA rank
#9,428
Tracked since 1977
Census
Shaylin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,664 people with the first name Shaylin, which placed it at #8,666 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
#8,666
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,664 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaylin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaylin is White at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Black (9.4%). 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 Shaylin 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 Shaylin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.3% · 1,053
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 220
- Black or African American9.4% · 157
- Two or more races8.6% · 143
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 34
Gender
Gender distribution for Shaylin
Out of the 1,893 babies given the name Shaylin since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Shaylin as a male name
- Ranked #14,025 in 2011
- 5 male births in 2011
- Peak: 1996 (5 births)
Shaylin as a female name
- Ranked #9,428 in 2024
- 11 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (91 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaylin leans strongly female. 1,613 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 47 male bearers (2.8%).
Popularity
Shaylin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaylin from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 818 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
Shaylin 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 Shaylin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaylins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. California, Florida, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Shaylin, while Tennessee, Oklahoma, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaylin
The name Shaylin is an English variant of the traditional Irish name Shailin. It is believed to have originated from the Old Irish word "scailín," which means "little wanderer" or "little traveler." The name's roots can be traced back to the 8th century AD in Ireland.
In ancient Irish folklore, the name Shaylin was often associated with the mythical figure of a free-spirited wanderer or explorer. It was a popular name among the Celtic clans who valued independence, adventure, and a connection with nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shaylin can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In this text, a warrior named Shaylin mac Conchobair is mentioned as a participant in a battle against the Vikings in the year 848 AD.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shaylin. Shaylin O'Donnell (1512-1580) was an Irish chieftain and lord of Tyrconnell, known for his military exploits against the English during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Shaylin O'Byrne (1670-1744) was an Irish poet and harpist who composed numerous works in the Irish language, preserving the country's cultural heritage.
In the 19th century, Shaylin Phelan (1825-1892) was an Irish-American entrepreneur who established a successful whiskey distillery in Pennsylvania. Shaylin MacNeill (1878-1964) was a Scottish writer and academic who made significant contributions to the study of Celtic literature and mythology.
More recently, Shaylin O'Connor (1920-1998) was an Irish-American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway musicals and Hollywood films during the mid-20th century.
While the name Shaylin has its roots in Irish culture, it has gained popularity worldwide, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its association with wanderlust, adventure, and a free spirit has made it an appealing choice for parents seeking a unique and meaningful name for their child.
People
Shaylin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaylin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shaylin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaylin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,855 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaylin 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 184,773 US residents.
Is Shaylin a common name?
We classify Shaylin as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,893 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaylin most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaylin was 2003, when 91 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaylin 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 Shaylin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,664 people with the name Shaylin, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,666 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 Shaylin 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 Shaylin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaylin leans strongly female. 1,613 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 47 male bearers (2.8%). 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 Shaylin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaylin is White at 63.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Black (9.4%). 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 Shaylin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shaylin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.3% (1,053 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 Shaylin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaylin a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Shaylin 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 Shaylin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaylin 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 Shaylin 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 share the name Shaylin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.