Taralyn
A feminine name derived from an Irish surname, possibly meaning "descended from the height".
Name Census estimates that about 648 living Americans carry the first name Taralyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Taralyn today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taralyn births was 1984 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taralyn. 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
648
~ 1 in 528,942 Americans
Peak year
1984
26 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,373
Tracked since 1964
Census
Taralyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 619 people with the first name Taralyn, which placed it at #17,674 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
#17,674
National first-name rank
People counted
619
619 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Taralyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taralyn is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Taralyn 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 Taralyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 439
- Black or African American12.6% · 78
- Two or more races5.8% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 15
Popularity
Taralyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Taralyn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 193 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Taralyn 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 Taralyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Taralyns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Taralyn
The name Taralyn is believed to have originated from the Celtic language, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Britons and Gaels who inhabited parts of modern-day Great Britain and Ireland. It is a feminine name composed of two elements: "Tar" and "lyn."
The first part, "Tar," is likely derived from the Celtic word "tara," which means "earth" or "land." This element is found in various Celtic names, such as Terrance and Terence. The second part, "lyn," is a common suffix in Celtic names, often associated with meanings like "lake," "pool," or "waterway."
Taralyn can be interpreted as "earth's pool" or "land by the water," reflecting the deep connection the ancient Celts had with nature and the land they inhabited. However, the exact origin and meaning of the name remain somewhat uncertain due to the limited historical records from that era.
One of the earliest known references to the name Taralyn can be found in the ancient Welsh legends and tales. It is said that a beautiful maiden named Taralyn was the object of affection for a brave Celtic warrior in one of these stories, though the specifics are lost to time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Taralyn. One of the earliest recorded instances was Taralyn of Gwynedd (c. 1150-1220), a Welsh noblewoman known for her patronage of the arts and literature during the Late Middle Ages.
Another prominent figure was Taralyn Fitzwilliam (1521-1586), an English courtier and close confidante of Queen Elizabeth I. She played a crucial role in diplomatic affairs and was renowned for her intelligence and wit.
In the realm of literature, Taralyn Bronte (1795-1842) was a lesser-known sister of the famous Bronte sisters, Charlotte and Emily. While her works did not achieve the same level of acclaim, her poetry and writings contributed to the literary legacy of the Bronte family.
During the Victorian era, Taralyn Nightingale (1840-1912) was a renowned philanthropist and social reformer who dedicated her life to improving healthcare and nursing practices in Britain and beyond.
More recently, Taralyn Everhart (1928-2005) was an American artist and sculptor whose works were celebrated for their unique blend of abstract and naturalistic forms, drawing inspiration from her Cherokee heritage.
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, have helped to preserve and carry forward the name Taralyn throughout history, each leaving their own unique mark on the world.
People
Taralyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taralyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Taralyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taralyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 648 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taralyn 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 528,942 US residents.
Is Taralyn a common name?
We classify Taralyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 686 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taralyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Taralyn was 1984, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taralyn is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Taralyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 619 people with the name Taralyn, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,674 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 Taralyn 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 Taralyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Taralyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 619 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Taralyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Taralyn is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.6%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Taralyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Taralyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (439 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 Taralyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Taralyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Taralyn 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 Taralyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Taralyn 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 Taralyn 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 Taralyn?
See how many people share the name Taralyn on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.