Kaylin
Masculine
Kaylin is given to both — 627 boys and 19,307 girls since 1880. See Kaylin as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Bede names a Caelin among four brothers who were all priests, one of whom became bishop of Lichfield. The name is Brittonic rather than English, and it sits in a seventh-century Northumbrian text looking exactly like a modern American respelling.
How old is the name Kaylin?
Kaylin first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Kaylin alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 600 people named Kaylin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kaylin most popular?
Kaylin peaked in 1996, reaching #2590 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 7,124 places below that high. See the whole 1996 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Caelin to Kaylin
The story of Kaylin
Bede's Ecclesiastical History mentions four brothers, Chad, Cedd, Cynibil and Caelin, all in orders, which was unusual enough for him to remark on. Caelin was a priest attached to the household of Ethelwald, king of Deira, and it was he who introduced his brother Cedd to the king, leading to the foundation of the monastery at Lastingham. Chad became bishop of Lichfield and one of the more important figures of the English church. The names are Brittonic rather than Old English, which is one of the pieces of evidence that the Northumbrian church and aristocracy were not ethnically uniform and that British families were still present and prominent in the seventh century. That a name from that context should be indistinguishable on paper from a 1990s American coinage is a coincidence, and a reminder that spelling proves nothing about origin.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Kaylin in modern American use is a respelling built on the Kay- opening and the -lin ending, with no inherited etymology and predominantly female use. It coincides with Caelin, a genuine seventh-century Northumbrian name recorded by Bede, of Brittonic origin and uncertain meaning. The two are unconnected. The American male peak is 1996.
How the name formed
- Caelin
- Kaylin
Related forms: Kaylen · Caelin
Pronouncing Kaylin
KAY-lin
Two syllables, stress on the first. Kaylin, Kaylen and Caelin are homophones, because the second syllable is unstressed.
Nicknames for Kaylin
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
- 1987
- Most boys named
- 201230 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2590reached in 1996
- Change vs 2024
- −12.5%7 in 2025, from 8
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.
Kaylin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kaylen in English — spelling variant
- Caelin in English — related form
Kaylins among us
people named Kaylin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Kaylin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kaylin
- #9714
- Kaylin on the 2025 chart
- #908
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kaylin went to 7 boys in 2025, but Kailyn and Cailyn are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 20, which makes it the 908th most-given boys’ name of the year — 8,806 places above the chart.
- Kailyn8
- Kaylin7
- Cailyn5
About 1 boy in 85,404 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 244,011 for Kaylin itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Panfilo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kaylin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Panfilo climbed just as high around 1929, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Panfilo's path sketches the road Kaylin is walking now.
Kaylin 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
Kaylin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kaylin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Kay and Lin are both usable short forms.
- The pronunciation is obvious from the spelling.
- Two syllables with a clear first-syllable stress.
- It is read as a girl's name by most Americans.
- Several spellings compete for the same sound.
- The resemblance to the Northumbrian name is a coincidence.
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What they receive
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Kaylin
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kaylins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Kaylin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kaylin?
- Kaylin is one of 3 recorded spellings. Kailyn is the more common one — 8 births in 2025 against 7 for Kaylin.
- How popular is the name Kaylin in 2025?
- Kaylin ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kaylin?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Kaylin — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kaylin with classmates?
- Kaylin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kaylin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kaylin? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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