Carlyon
Feminine
Carlyon is a Cornish surname and the name of a stretch of coast near St Austell, Carlyon Bay. As a girl's name it also looks and sounds very like Carolyn, and it has carried both resemblances on American records.
How old is the name Carlyon?
Carlyon first appears in US birth records in 1930 — 95 years ago. The typical Carlyon alive today was born around 1951, making them about 74 years old. About 400 people named Carlyon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Carlyon most popular?
Carlyon peaked in 1946, reaching #1771 nationally. See the whole 1946 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Carlyon
Our story of Carlyon keeps both of its roads open. One runs west to Cornwall, where the name belongs to a family and to a bay on the south coast east of St Austell. The other runs through the long American fondness for Carolyn, whose letters Carlyon holds in a slightly different order. The name never had to choose between them, and its three syllables sit easily either way.
Meaningnot established
Not established
If the girl's name is the Cornish surname, it carries the meaning of a Cornish place-name that has not been settled. If it is a spelling of Carolyn, it belongs to Charles, from a Germanic word for a free man. The record does not say which road any family took.
Pronouncing Carlyon
kar-LY-un
The Cornish surname is stressed on the second syllable; families who read it as a form of Carolyn may say KAR-lin, and the spelling does not settle it.
Nicknames for Carlyon
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1930
- Most girls named
- 194626 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1771reached in 1946
- Change vs 1971
- +16.7%7 in 1973, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Carlyons among us
people named Carlyon are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Carlyon sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Has a real place and family name behind it in Cornwall.
- Carly is ready as a short form.
- Familiar in shape to anyone who knows Carolyn.
- It will be corrected to Carolyn often, so the family will want to settle the pronunciation first and then repeat it with confidence.
- The Cornish link is a place and a surname rather than a meaning, so the question of what it means has no neat answer.
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Carlyon
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Carlyons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Carlyon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Carlyon in 2025?
- Carlyon is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Carlyon with classmates?
- Carlyon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Carlyon? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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