Yaileen
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning, potentially derived from Haitian Creole.
Name Census estimates that about 277 living Americans carry the first name Yaileen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yaileen today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yaileen births was 2001 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yaileen. 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
277
~ 1 in 1,237,380 Americans
Peak year
2001
19 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,063
Tracked since 1997
Census
Yaileen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 273 people with the first name Yaileen, which placed it at #31,391 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
#31,391
National first-name rank
People counted
273
273 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yaileen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yaileen is Hispanic at 98.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Yaileen 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 Yaileen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.9% · 270
- White0.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Popularity
Yaileen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yaileen from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 126 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
Yaileen 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 Yaileen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yaileens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yaileen
The given name Yaileen is believed to have originated from the Cahuilla tribe, a Native American people indigenous to the inland regions of southern California. The name is thought to be derived from the Cahuilla word "yaileñ," which translates to "little bird" or "songbird." Its origins can be traced back to the late 18th century or early 19th century, when the Cahuilla language was still widely spoken among the tribe.
While the name Yaileen does not appear to be directly referenced in any ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the Cahuilla tribe and their cultural traditions is significant. The Cahuilla people have a rich history deeply rooted in the natural world, and the name's association with a small bird likely reflects their reverence for nature and the spiritual significance they attributed to various animals and their behaviors.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Yaileen are relatively scarce, as it was primarily used within the Cahuilla community and did not gain widespread recognition until more recent times. However, a few notable individuals with this name can be found in historical records.
One of the earliest known figures with the name Yaileen was a Cahuilla woman who lived in the late 19th century. While her exact birth and death dates are unknown, she was recognized within her community for her knowledge of traditional Cahuilla stories and her efforts to preserve the tribe's cultural heritage.
In the early 20th century, Yaileen Palomar (1905-1992) was a prominent Cahuilla activist and educator who dedicated her life to advocating for the rights and representation of Native American communities. She played a crucial role in establishing educational programs and cultural centers to promote the preservation of indigenous languages and traditions.
Another notable figure was Yaileen Tórrez (1922-2008), a Nicaraguan-American artist and sculptor known for her work exploring themes of identity, cultural heritage, and the experiences of women. Her sculptures and installations were widely acclaimed and exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and Latin America.
In the field of literature, Yaileen Alvarado (1936-2019) was a celebrated Chicana writer and poet whose works often explored issues of social justice, feminism, and the Chicano experience in the United States. Her poetry collections and essays have been widely studied and praised for their powerful narratives and cultural significance.
More recently, Yaileen Arizmendi (born 1985) is a Mexican-American entrepreneur and founder of a successful fashion and lifestyle brand that celebrates her cultural roots and promotes sustainable and ethical practices within the industry.
Throughout history, the name Yaileen has carried a deep connection to the Cahuilla tribe's cultural heritage and reverence for nature, while also gaining recognition in various fields as individuals with this name have made their mark in areas such as activism, art, literature, and entrepreneurship.
People
Yaileen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yaileen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yaileen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yaileen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 277 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yaileen 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 1,237,380 US residents.
Is Yaileen a common name?
We classify Yaileen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 281 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yaileen most popular?
The single biggest year for Yaileen was 2001, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yaileen is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yaileen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 273 people with the name Yaileen, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,391 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 Yaileen 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 Yaileen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yaileen appears almost entirely female. Of the 276 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 Yaileen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yaileen is Hispanic at 98.9%. The next largest groups are White (0.7%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Yaileen most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Yaileen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.9% (270 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 Yaileen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yaileen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yaileen 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 Yaileen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yaileen 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 Yaileen 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 Yaileen?
You can see how many Americans are named Yaileen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.