Flynn
Masculine · “from Irish flann”
Flynn is given to both — 6,681 boys and 479 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Flynn began as an Irish surname — Ó Floinn, the family of Flann — and made the crossing to English-speaking countries with the great waves of Irish emigration. It is one syllable, ends in that quick double-n, and asks nothing of the person saying it. Among the surname-turned-first-name group it has one of the longer runs on American records, though its real wave is recent.
How old is the name Flynn?
Flynn first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Flynn is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 6,500 people named Flynn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Flynn most popular?
Flynn peaked in 2021, reaching #654 nationally. Today it ranks #827, 173 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Flynn appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Flann to Flynn
The story of Flynn
The Irish word flann described a red or ruddy color, and it became a personal name in early medieval Ireland — the sort recorded in annals and poetry. Families descending from a man of that name took the surname Ó Floinn, and separate Ó Floinn septs are documented in the south and west of Ireland. Anglicized into Flynn in the centuries of English administration and then carried abroad by Irish emigrants, it became a common surname in the United States, Australia and Britain. Its use as a first name is much later, part of the long twentieth-century habit of moving Irish surnames to the front.
Meaning
from Irish flann, 'red' or 'ruddy' — the surname Ó Floinn means 'descendant of Flann'
Flann was a personal name in medieval Ireland, borne by kings and scribes, before it became the root of the family name.
How the name formed
- Flann
- Ó Floinn
- Flynn
Related forms: Ó Floinn · Flinn · Flann · Flannán · Flannery
Pronouncing Flynn
FLIN
One syllable, rhyming with 'win'. The same in Ireland, Britain, Australia and the US — there is no second pronunciation to correct.
Nicknames for Flynn
Moderate
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 2021418 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #654reached in 2021
- Change vs 2023
- −7.4%299 in 2025, from 323
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.
Flynn in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Floinn in Irish — same name
- Flinn in English — spelling variant
- Flann in Irish — related form
- Flannán in Irish — related form
- Flannery in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Pennsylvania, Florida.
Flynns among us
people named Flynn are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 5,713 born in 2025 was named Flynn
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Leigh test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Flynn's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Leigh climbed just as high around 1955, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Leigh's path sketches the road Flynn is walking now.
Flynn sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Flynn is headed
Flynn should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Flynn beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Flynn in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable, one obvious pronunciation, no regional variants to correct.
- A documented Irish surname with centuries of written record behind it, not a recent coinage.
- Familiar in spelling to English speakers everywhere, since Flynn is a common surname in the US, Ireland, Britain and Australia.
- Needs no nickname to work day to day, and shortens to Flynnie if a family wants one.
- Finn is a good deal more common, and Flynn is regularly heard as Finn on the phone or in a noisy room. Expect to repeat it, and to see the occasional Flinn.
- The animated film Tangled gave the name to one of its lead characters, and for people who grew up with that film the association is immediate. Whether that helps or crowds is a matter of taste.
- The -ynn ending is shared with names given mostly to girls, such as Brynn and Wynn, so Flynn is occasionally read as a girl's name on paper even though US records show it overwhelmingly for boys.
- It reads as a surname first and a given name second, which suits some family name combinations better than others — worth saying aloud with the last name.
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What they receive
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Flynn
Masculine · #827 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Flynns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,500 people named Flynn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Flynn in 2025?
- Flynn ranks #827 among US boy names in 2025, with 299 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Flynn?
- About 1 in every 5,713 US boys born in 2025 was named Flynn — 299 in all.
- Will my child share the name Flynn with classmates?
- Flynn will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Flynn
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Drake#827 · Bjorn#829 · Ignacio#829 · Jefferson#829 · Nelson#824 · Yisroel#824 · Jettson#824 · Rayden#832
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Flynn? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Flynn and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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