Kylin
Feminine
Kylin is given to both — 1,356 girls and 2,093 boys since 1880. See Kylin as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Kylin joins Ky to a -lin ending, and it happens to land on the English spelling of the Chinese qilin — a chimerical beast.
How old is the name Kylin?
Kylin first appears in US birth records in 1987 — 38 years ago. The typical Kylin alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 1,300 people named Kylin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kylin most popular?
Kylin peaked in 2011, reaching #2454 nationally. Today it ranks #4352, 1,898 places below that high. See the whole 2011 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kylin
Ours, offered as ours. The qilin appears in Chinese tradition only in the reign of a virtuous ruler, walks without crushing the grass, and was identified with the giraffe when the first one reached Ming China in 1414 — which is how a mythical beast's name became a zoo animal's. English spelled it kylin for a long time. The modern American name almost certainly comes from Ky and -lin instead, and the giraffe story is worth having either way.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source is established for the compound. Ky clips Kyle, from Gaelic caol, narrow. Kylin is also an older English spelling of the Chinese qilin, a mythical hooved creature; the coincidence is not documented as the source.
Pronouncing Kylin
KY-lin
Two syllables, first stressed. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Kylin
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 girls named
- 201174 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2454reached in 2011
- Change vs 2024
- −15.8%32 in 2025, from 38
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.
Kylin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Qilin in Chinese — related form
- Kylynn in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, California.
Kylins among us
people named Kylin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 50,227 born in 2025 was named Kylin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kylin
- #4352
- Kylin on the 2025 chart
- #857
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kylin went to 32 girls in 2025, but Kylynn, Khylynn and Kylinn and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 7 spellings went to 103, which makes it the 857th most-given girls’ name of the year — 3,495 places above the chart.
- Kylynn37
- Kylin32
- Khylynn8
- Kylinn8
- Khilynn7
- Kylyn6
- Kilyn5
About 1 girl in 15,605 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 50,227 for Kylin 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 Lagina test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kylin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lagina climbed just as high around 1969, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lagina's path sketches the road Kylin is walking now.
Kylin 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 Kylin is headed
Kylin 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.
Kylin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kylin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Ky and Lin are both complete short forms in their own right.
- Read correctly on sight by most English speakers.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- Kylin, Kylynn and Kylan are all in use and none is dominant.
- It is used for both sexes, so forms may guess wrong.
- There is no documented meaning for the compound.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Kylin
Feminine · #4352 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kylins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Kylin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kylin?
- Kylin is one of 7 recorded spellings. Kylynn is the more common one — 37 births in 2025 against 32 for Kylin.
- How popular is the name Kylin in 2025?
- Kylin ranks #4352 among US girl names in 2025, with 32 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kylin?
- About 1 in every 50,227 US girls born in 2025 was named Kylin — 32 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kylin with classmates?
- Kylin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kylin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Sigrid#4352 · Adel#4352 · Lovella#4352 · Kaysha#4352 · Arissa#4352 · Joseline#4352 · Yajaira#4352 · Elma#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kylin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kylin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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