Layden
Masculine
Layden is given to both — 1,131 boys and 74 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Layden is a spelling near Leiden, the Dutch city, and near Laidley, an English place name — and it may descend from neither.
How old is the name Layden?
Layden first appears in US birth records in 1999 — 26 years ago. The typical Layden is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,100 people named Layden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Layden most popular?
Layden peaked in 2012, reaching #1756 nationally. Today it ranks #4396, 2,640 places below that high. See the whole 2012 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Layden
Ours, offered as ours. Leiden is worth the detour: its university, founded in 1575, was the reward the city asked for after surviving a siege — offered a choice between exemption from taxes and a university, the burghers chose the university. It became one of the great centers of European learning. Whether an American Layden has any connection is very unlikely, and the story is one of the better ones attached to a place name.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source is established. Leiden's name is Dutch and of unsettled origin. English Laidley is a place name meaning a watercourse clearing. The modern American Layden is more likely built on the -aden pattern that produced Caden and Braden.
Pronouncing Layden
LAY-den
Two syllables, first stressed. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Layden
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
- 1999
- Most boys named
- 201285 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1756reached in 2012
- Change vs 2024
- −36.1%23 in 2025, from 36
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.
Layden in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Leiden in Dutch — related form
- Laiden in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, Illinois.
Laydens among us
people named Layden are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 74,264 born in 2025 was named Layden
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Layden
- #4396
- Layden on the 2025 chart
- #894
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Layden went to 23 boys in 2025, but Laiden is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 34, which makes it the 894th most-given boys’ name of the year — 3,502 places above the chart.
- Layden23
- Laiden11
About 1 boy in 50,238 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 74,264 for Layden 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 Dionisio test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Layden's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dionisio climbed just as high around 1966, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dionisio's path sketches the road Layden is walking now.
Layden 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
Layden beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Layden in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- It fits the -aden family without being one of the crowded spellings.
- Layden, Laiden and Laden are all in use and none is dominant.
- It is close to Laden, which has an unfortunate modern association.
- There is no documented meaning.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Layden
Masculine · #4396 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Laydens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Layden are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Layden?
- Layden is the most-used spelling in US records — 23 of the 34 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Laiden.
- How popular is the name Layden in 2025?
- Layden ranks #4396 among US boy names in 2025, with 23 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Layden?
- About 1 in every 74,264 US boys born in 2025 was named Layden — 23 in all.
- Will my child share the name Layden with classmates?
- Layden will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Layden
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Odell#4396 · Corwin#4396 · Tennyson#4396 · Marques#4396 · Manu#4396 · Omid#4396 · Zackariah#4396 · Burton#4396
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Layden? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Layden and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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