Lynn is an extremely trendy and popular element for American baby names this decade. The vast majority of the 446 ‘Lynn‘ names listed in the extended data in 2015 were given to girls, though that’s not counting the ‘Lyn‘ names (which, including the Lynns, totals at 1054 names).
Lynn itself is a mid-century unisex American moniker which hasn’t been popular among either gender in a few decades. In 2015, only 82 girls and 16 boys were called Lynn. The majority of Lynns are probably grandparents now, since peak years were in the 1940s and 1950s. By the time I was growing up in the new millennium, Lynn was mostly a filler middle name like Marie or James.
In the past 5-10 years, Lynn has migrated back towards the front. Today you’ll often find it as the second part of compound names like Adalynn (#123) and Emmalynn (#697).
The following lists every ‘lyn‘ and ‘lynn‘ name in the top 1000 with their ranks:
- #1-100: Evelyn (#15), Brooklyn (#31), Madelyn (#59)
- #101-200: Adalynn (#123), Adalyn (#132), Jocelyn (#133), Brooklynn (#170), Raelynn (#177), Adelyn (#193), Kaitlyn (#197)
- #201-300: Katelyn (#239), Adelynn (#275)
- #301-400: Madilyn (#315), Ashlyn (#332), Addilyn (#336), Raelyn (#340), Gracelyn (#358), Ashlynn (#375), Gracelynn (#391)
- #401-500: Gwendolyn (#404), Madelynn (#415), Marilyn (#426), Evelynn (#441), Emmalyn (#457), Braelynn (#465), Braelyn (#467), Madilynn (#497)
- #501-600: Jazlyn (#503), Kaelyn (#521), Madalyn (#570), Caitlyn (#599), Jaelynn (#600)
- #601-700: Jaelyn (#601), Katelynn (#654), Kailyn (#658), Joselyn (#684), Madalynn (#685), Flynn (#694), Emmalynn (#697)
- #701-800: Jaylynn (#722), Addilynn (#731), Roselyn (#732), Kaylynn (#744), Carolyn (#752), Jazlynn (#769)
- #801-900: Adilynn (#805), Joslyn (#862), Evalyn (#870), Avalynn (#884)
- #901-1000: Kaelynn (#939), Avalyn (#980), Jocelynn (#994), Kaitlynn (#997)
Several patterns govern currently popular ‘lyn‘ and ‘lynn‘ names. A few are classics like Evelyn and Gwendolyn. More are spelling variations of classics, evidenced by the many spellings of Adeline and Madeline. Several versions of Caitlin are still popular. Then there are the compounds like Grace+Lynn and Ava+Lynn. Some of those compounds can also be variations on older names, like Emma+Lynn for Emmaline/Emmeline and Rose+Lyn for Rosalind/Rosaline. Also notable are the feminine forms of Jalen (#587) such as Jaelyn and Jaylynn, the one male ‘lyn‘ name (Flynn), and place-name Brooklyn (which is unisex in the U.K.).
The extended data yields many more ‘lyn‘ and ‘lynn‘ names. Here are some interesting ones from below the top 1000:
- Ailyn: 235 girls. Possibly a variant of Aylin (#367) or Aileen (#515). If both of those rise in 2016, don’t be surprised to see Ailyn in the top 1000 too.
- Rilynn: 234 girls. Riley is popular for both genders, ranking #35 for girls and #194 among boys.
- Sherlyn: 221 girls. This actually fell out of the top 1000 in 2015; Sherlyn‘s popularity was somewhat volatile.
- Skylynn: 186 girls. For when you enjoy nature and ‘lynn‘ names!
- Carlyn: 175 girls. Daughters of George Carlin fans, I bet.
- Aislynn: 158 girls. Irish Aislinn debuted in the top 1000 in 2015.
- Taelyn: 135 girls.
- Maelynn: 110 girls.
- Irelynn: 100 girls. Variation on Ireland.
- Lakelyn: 99 girls.
- Lynette: 96 girls.
- Harlyn: 76 girls, 9 boys.
- Azlynn: 74 girls. Could relate to Aislinn or Aslan.
- Aaralyn: 72 girls. This might actually be a feminine form of Aaron.
- Daelyn: 65 girls, 38 boys.
- Scotlyn: 64 girls. Variation on Scotland.
- Oaklynn: 57 girls. Oakley + Lynn or Oakland.
- Coralynn: 56 girls.
- Angelyn: 55 girls.
- Amberlynn: 48 girls.
- Catelyn: 47 girls. Obligatory Game of Thrones reference.
- Jolynn: 44 girls. Somehow I don’t think that song ‘Jolene’ would have the same ring to it if it were ‘Jolynn.’
- Yoselyn: 41 girls.
- Natalynn: 34 girls. Natalie + Lynn
- Everlyn: 32 girls.
- Locklyn: 31 girls. Feminine version of Lachlan.
- Berlyn: 30 girls. Berlin.
- Faithlynn: 29 girls.
- Joshlyn: 29 girls.
- Klynn: 28 girls. Kaylynn without vowels.
- Weslyn: 28 girls.
- Zailynn: 28 girls.
- Chrislynn: 27 girls.
- Courtlynn: 25 girls.
- Magdalyn: 25 girls. Distinctive variant of Magdalen and Magdalene.
- Lyndon: 25 girls, 153 boys. As in President Lyndon B. Johnson.
- Darlyn: 23 girls. Phonetic for “Darling?”
- Hartlyn: 23 girls.
- Jerilyn: 21 girls.
- Kashlyn: 21 girls.
- Brielynn: 19 girls. I like cheese – do you like cheese?
- Starlynn: 19 girls.
- Lovelyn: 18 girls.
- Breslyn: 17 girls. Probably inspired by actress Abigail Breslin.
- Edlyn: 16 girls. A modern way to honor an Ed?
- Gatlyn, 16 boys. As in Gatling guns.
- Timberlynn: 16 girls. What the logger calls his daughter?
- Preslyn: 13 girls. Presley ranks #187 and will likely continue to gain popularity.
- Rocklyn: 12 girls.
- Copelyn: 11 girls. Aaron Copland was a famous American composer.
- Merelyn: 10 girls. Variant of Marilyn or Maryland.
- Rhealynn: 10 girls.
- Llewellyn: 8 boys. Ancient Welsh name.
- Portlyn: 7 girls. Variation of Portland.
- Rexalynn: 6 girls.
- Tatelyn: 6 girls.
- Bellalynn: 5 girls. Possibly a double-barrel name (i.e. Bella-Lynn), but the SSA doesn’t count those.
- Crystalynn: 5 girls. People are punny.
- Jekalyn: 5 girls. Should we expect Hydalyn next?
- Joplyn: 5 girls. Could refer to Joplin, Missouri or ragtime musician Scott Joplin.
-
Joplin also composed ‘the Entertainer’ - Lynnmarie: 5 girls. When your first name is two filler middles, what kind of middle name would you have? Lynnmarie Ann doesn’t sound that great…but Lynnmarie Georgiana would work!
- Lynx: 5 girls, 12 boys. Kitty!
- Mandalyn: 5 girls. For the music-lovers.
- Palyn: 5 girls. Political Lynn.
- Terralyn: 5 girls.
- Thailyn: 5 girls. More likely a variation of Thailand, but possibly also Tylyn.
One thing that intrigues me about the names towards the bottom of the barrel is that parents are making a trend out of taking place names ending in “-land” and putting “-lynn” endings instead.
Do you have a favorite ‘lyn‘ or ‘lynn‘ name? Let me know in the comments.
Sources:
- http://www.behindthename.com/top/lists/united-states/2015
- https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/limits.html
The Well-Informed Namer 
Don’t have a favorite variant of a ‘lynn’ name but I can tell you that among first generation Asian-American girls, the names ‘Evelyn’ and ‘Lynn’ are very popular. ‘Lin’ in Chinese can be written a lot of different ways to mean different things like ‘forest’, ‘gem’, ‘beautiful’, ‘jade’ and many others, which makes it very popular for girls. So when immigrant families need to pick a name for their children that can bridge the cultures, all of these variants become significant. Same how you’ll see a lot of boys named James.
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