2000
#63,450
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 294
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Nylin
A surname of Swedish origin meaning "the needle maker".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 333 Americans carry the last name Nylin. That puts it at #72,279 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,029,292 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nylin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
333
1 in 1,029,292
Census rank
#72,279
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
290
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 290 bearers of the surname Nylin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 72279th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nylin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nylin
The surname Nylin is of Swedish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old Norse word "nyl", which means "spool" or "bobbin". This suggests that the name may have been associated with someone who worked with spools or bobbins, possibly in the textile industry.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Nylin can be found in the parish records of Västergötland, a county in southwestern Sweden. In 1587, a man named Nils Nylin was mentioned in the church records of Fröjered parish. It is likely that the name Nylin was initially derived from a place name or a farm name, as was common practice in Sweden during that time.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Nylin began to spread across various parts of Sweden. One notable individual bearing this surname was Carl Nylin (1758-1835), a Swedish engineer and inventor. He is credited with developing the first practical process for producing white lead, which was an important pigment used in paints and cosmetics.
In the 19th century, Johan Fredrik Nylin (1808-1868) was a Swedish botanist and professor at the University of Lund. He made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and authored several publications on the flora of Scandinavia.
Another prominent bearer of the Nylin name was Nils Nylin (1895-1973), a Swedish politician who served as the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1951 to 1952. He played a crucial role in shaping Sweden's social welfare policies and advocating for worker's rights during his political career.
The name Nylin can also be found in other parts of the world, likely due to Swedish emigration. One example is Lars Nylin (1918-2009), a Swedish-American composer and music educator who taught at various universities in the United States.
While the surname Nylin may have evolved from different spellings or variations over time, it remains deeply rooted in Swedish history and culture, tracing its origins back to the 16th century and the textile industry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nylin
Among Census respondents with the surname Nylin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Nylin bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Nylin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 270
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 5
- Two or more races1.0% · 3
- Black or African American0.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nylin
Nylin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#65,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 301
+7 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 2,332 places
2020
#72,279
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 290
-11 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 6,497 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #63,450 | 294 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #65,782 | 301 | 0.10 | +7 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 2,332 places |
| 2020 | #72,279 | 290 | 0.10 | -11 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 6,497 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Nylin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #65,782 | #72,279 | -9.9% |
| Count | 301 | 290 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.10 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nylin bearers went from 301 to 290 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 6,497 positions in the national ranking, going from #65,782 to #72,279.
FAQ
Nylin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nylin?
Name Census estimates that about 333 living Americans carry the surname Nylin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,029,292 residents.
How common is Nylin?
Nylin ranks #72,279 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 290 people with the surname Nylin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (333), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Nylin.
Has Nylin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nylin went from 301 recorded bearers to 290. That is a decrease of 11 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #65,782 to #72,279.
What does the Census say about the background of Nylin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nylin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Nylin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (270 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nylin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Nylin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Nylin mean?
A surname of Swedish origin meaning "the needle maker". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Nylin (0.10 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Nylin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.