Waylon
Masculine
Waylon is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 55,048 boys against 290 girls since 1880.
Waylon is the American shape of Wayland, a name whose oldest layer belongs to Weland the smith of Germanic legend, sung about in Old English poetry more than a thousand years ago. The modern spelling owes much to the Texas-born country musician Waylon Jennings, christened Wayland and known to the world by the trimmed version. It is two easy syllables that land the same way in every accent: WAY-lon.
How old is the name Waylon?
Waylon first appears in US birth records in 1911 — 114 years ago. The typical Waylon is a kid of about 4 — this name's wave is very recent. About 54,000 people named Waylon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Waylon most popular?
Waylon peaked in 2025, reaching #56 nationally. Today it ranks #56, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From Weland to Waylon
The story of Waylon
The older road runs through Germanic legend: Weland the smith appears in the Old English poems Deor and Waldere, and as Völundr in Norse tradition, a craftsman of famous skill. The same letters also existed independently in England as a surname and place name from weg and land, land along a road, and surnames of that kind crossed to America and became first names there. Waylon itself is the American respelling, carried into wide view by the country musician Waylon Jennings, who was born Wayland in West Texas. The name has been on US records since the early twentieth century, quietly, long before its recent climb.
Meaningscholars disagree
Either 'land by the road' or a name from the legendary smith Weland
Two serious readings sit behind it. As an English surname and place name, Wayland comes from Old English weg 'way, road' and land — the land beside the highway. As a personal name it goes back to Weland, the smith of Germanic legend, whose own name has never been securely explained; scholars have linked it to roots for craft and for battle without settling the matter.
Cultural footprint
Waylon Jennings (b. 1937) — Country music's original outlaw
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Weland
- Wayland
- Waylon
Related forms: Weland · Wayland · Waylan · Wieland · Völundr
Pronouncing Waylon
WAY-lon
Stress on the first syllable. The second is often relaxed to -lun in ordinary speech. No competing pronunciations in English.
Nicknames for Waylon
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
- 1911
- Most boys named
- 20255,408 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #56reached in 2025
- Change vs 2023
- +10.5%5,408 in 2025, from 4,895
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.
Waylon in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Weland in Old English — related form
- Wayland in English — related form
- Waylan in English — spelling variant
- Wieland in German — related form
- Völundr in Old Norse — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina.
Waylons among us
people named Waylon are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 316 born in 2025 was named Waylon
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 Adrian test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Waylon's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Adrian climbed just as high around 2008, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Adrian's path sketches the road Waylon is walking now.
Waylon is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Waylon is headed
Waylon looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 15% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
High 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.
Waylon beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Waylon in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Reads exactly as it sounds — most people spell it correctly from hearing it once, thanks to decades of country radio.
- Two syllables with a firm first beat, which sits easily beside both short and long surnames.
- Its oldest layer, Weland the smith, is documented in Old English poetry, giving the name a very long written record.
- Strongest in Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina, so it carries a recognizably Southern-American history alongside its older one.
- Also in use outside the US, including in Central American football, so it travels without needing explanation.
- The association with Waylon Jennings is close and permanent for many adults. If you would rather the name stood on its own, this one will not.
- Wayland, Waylan and Waylen all exist, so expect the occasional correction on forms — less often than with most names, but it happens.
- Its wave is very recent, which means most bearers are children rather than grown men; the name has little established adult presence yet.
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What they receive
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Waylon
Masculine · #56 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Waylons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 54,000 people named Waylon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Waylon in 2025?
- Waylon ranks #56 among US boy names in 2025, with 5,408 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Waylon?
- About 1 in every 316 US boys born in 2025 was named Waylon — 5,408 in all.
- Will my child share the name Waylon with classmates?
- Waylon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Waylon
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Weston#55 · Isaiah#57 · Caleb#58 · Josiah#54 · Logan#53 · Rowan#59 · Beau#60 · Wesley#52
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Waylon? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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