How Many People Are Named Carlyn?
An estimated 3,220 people in the United States have the first name Carlyn. It is predominantly female (98.5%). The average bearer is 43 years old, and Carlyn peaked in popularity in 1994 with 78 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Carlyn as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Carlyn paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Carlyn is overwhelmingly female, 67 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
3,220
About 1 in 106,445 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
98.5% confidence
Average Age
43
years old
Peak Year
1994
78 births
Total Registered
4,361
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Carlyn
Carlyn is predominantly female (98.5%), though 67 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Carlyn as a male name
Ranked #8,990 in 1994
5 male births in 1994
Peak: 1938 (10 births)
Carlyn as a female name
Ranked #6,418 in 2024
18 female births in 2024
Peak: 1992 (74 births)
Carlyn: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Carlyn span from the 1900s to the 2020s, covering 13 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 619 babies were registered. Carlyn has declined significantly from its peak in the 1990s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Carlyn by Decade
How has Carlyn tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Carlyn by State
Birth registrations for Carlyn span all 18 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Tennessee, New Jersey, North Carolina. On average, about 38 Carlyns were registered per state.
Carlyn + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Carlyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Carlyn
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Carlyn: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Carlyn?
We estimate approximately 3,220 people named Carlyn are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 106,445 Americans share this first name.
Is Carlyn a common name?
Carlyn is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 95.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,361 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Carlyn most popular?
Carlyn reached peak popularity in 1994, when 78 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Carlyn is approximately 43 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Carlyn a female name?
Carlyn is predominantly female. 98.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Carlyn Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Carlyn Smith, Carlyn Johnson, Carlyn Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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