Shaylyn
An elaborated feminine form of Shayla, of uncertain origin.
Name Census estimates that about 2,044 living Americans carry the first name Shaylyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shaylyn today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaylyn births was 1993 (88 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaylyn. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 167,688 Americans
Peak year
1993
88 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,959
Tracked since 1976
Census
Shaylyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,795 people with the first name Shaylyn, which placed it at #8,144 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
#8,144
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,795 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaylyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaylyn is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Shaylyn 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 Shaylyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 1,272
- Black or African American8.4% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 135
- Two or more races7.4% · 133
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 40
Popularity
Shaylyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaylyn from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 764 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaylyn 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 Shaylyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaylyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Utah, Florida recorded the most babies named Shaylyn, while New Jersey, Indiana, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaylyn
The name Shaylyn is a modern variation of the traditional Irish name Shayla or Shaylia. Its origins can be traced back to the Gaelic language spoken in ancient Ireland and Scotland. The name is derived from the Old Irish word "saol," which means "life" or "world."
In its earliest form, the name was likely a feminine version of the Irish male name Shay or Shea. These names were commonly used in Ireland and Scotland during the Middle Ages and were often associated with ruling families or clans. The addition of the suffix "-lyn" or "-lia" was a later development, likely influenced by other European naming traditions.
While there are no definitive records of the name Shaylyn appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some historians believe it may have been used informally in ancient Celtic communities. However, the earliest documented use of the name in its modern form dates back to the late 20th century, when it gained popularity as a unique and distinctive name for baby girls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shaylyn can be found in the birth records of the United States in the 1970s. However, it was relatively uncommon until the late 1990s and early 2000s when it experienced a surge in popularity.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who have borne variations of the name Shaylyn. One of the earliest recorded examples is Shayla Curry (born in 1993), an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA. Another is Shayla LaVeaux (born in 1982), an American model and actress known for her appearances in films and television shows.
In the literary world, Shayla Black (born in 1971) is a notable American author of contemporary erotic romance novels. In the field of music, Shayla Moss (born in 1976) is an American singer and songwriter best known for her work with the R&B group Shayla and Mairi.
Finally, Shayla Shaylynn Lawson (born in 1998) is a British actress and model who has appeared in several television shows and films, including the popular series "Game of Thrones."
People
Shaylyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaylyn 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
Shaylyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaylyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,044 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaylyn 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 167,688 US residents.
Is Shaylyn a common name?
We classify Shaylyn as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,100 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaylyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaylyn was 1993, when 88 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaylyn is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shaylyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,795 people with the name Shaylyn, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,144 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 Shaylyn 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 Shaylyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shaylyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,797 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Shaylyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaylyn is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Shaylyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shaylyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (1,272 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 Shaylyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaylyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shaylyn 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 Shaylyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaylyn 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 Shaylyn 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 are named Shaylyn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.