Gatlin
Gatlin was the 1026th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 217 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 725th with 359 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 35 places. More babies were named Gatlin in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning surname (origin uncertain) · English
Say it GAT-lin /ˈɡætlɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,026 boys, down 247 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 217boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2022359 babies
- Total since 1880
- 4,511babies recorded
What does the name Gatlin mean?
Gatlin is an English surname of uncertain origin used as a first name; Wiktionary records the surname without an etymology. It may be a variant of Gatling, which some surname books derive from Old English gædeling 'kinsman, companion', but we could not confirm this. In the US it is known from the country-music Gatlin Brothers and from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, named after the 19th-century settler Radford Gatlin.
How sure is this? Uncertain. No confirmed etymology.
Related names: Gatling, Gaitlin.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Gatlin', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Gatlin popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 40 since 2015.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,026 | 217 |
| 2020 | #779 | 301 |
| 2010 | #1,841 | 79 |
| 2000 | #2,267 | 43 |
| 1990 | #1,987 | 38 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Gatlin, counting every spelling?
Gatlin is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #971 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,026 for Gatlin on its own. Together these spellings went to 223 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gatlin | 217 | #1,026 | 1,465 |
| Gatlyn | 6 | #11,121 | 54 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Gatlin?
217 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Gatlin (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Gatlin born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 39 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Gatlin.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Gatlin?
About 4,400 people born in the US named Gatlin are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 15. That makes Gatlin a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Gatlin by state
How common Gatlin was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in West Virginia (7.6×), Arkansas (4.7×), Kentucky (4.5×), Mississippi (4.0×), Indiana (3.5×). In 24 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Gatlin: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Gatlin, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Gatlin · Sibling names for Gatlin
Questions about the name Gatlin
What does Gatlin mean?
Gatlin is usually explained as “surname (origin uncertain)”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Gatlin?
Gatlin was the 1026th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 217 babies. Its best year was 2022, when it ranked 725th with 359 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 35 places. More babies were named Gatlin in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Gatlin a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Gatlin in the US.
Where is Gatlin most popular?
In 2021–2025, Gatlin was most common in West Virginia (1.29 per 1,000 boys), followed by Arkansas and Kentucky.