Lynn
Lynn was the 2558th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 69 babies. Its best year was 1956, when it ranked 58th with 7,736 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 305 places. More babies were named Lynn in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning lake or pool (surname) · English, Welsh
Say it LIN /lɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #2,558 girls, down 286 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 69girls
- Girls and boys
- 79% girls, 21% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19567,736 babies
- Total since 1880
- 234,778babies recorded
What does the name Lynn mean?
Lynn is an English surname and place name, as in King's Lynn in Norfolk, generally derived from Welsh or Brittonic llyn 'lake, pool' (or Old English hlynn 'torrent'). Wiktionary lists it as a boys' name usually used as a middle name; as a girls' name it is often a short form of Linda or Carolyn and was very common as a middle name in the mid-20th century.
llyn (Welsh, “lake, pool”)
How sure is this? Probable. The place-name origin is standard; for girls the name is often a short form instead.
Related names: Lynne, Linda, Carolyn.
See also: Welsh names, names that mean water, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Lynn', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'llyn' (Welsh section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Lynn popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,558 | #6,032 | 69 | 15 |
| 2020 | #2,272 | #6,873 | 79 | 12 |
| 2010 | #1,838 | #4,961 | 111 | 19 |
| 2000 | #1,185 | #2,075 | 169 | 49 |
| 1990 | #583 | #1,265 | 397 | 77 |
| 1980 | #253 | #663 | 1,016 | 170 |
| 1970 | #119 | #420 | 3,264 | 381 |
| 1960 | #64 | #256 | 6,850 | 959 |
| 1950 | #76 | #154 | 5,020 | 1,623 |
| 1940 | #193 | #160 | 957 | 1,045 |
| 1930 | #542 | #262 | 157 | 458 |
| 1920 | #927 | #274 | 62 | 412 |
| 1910 | #907 | #313 | 23 | 63 |
| 1900 | #1,516 | #341 | 8 | 41 |
| 1890 | — | #339 | — | 27 |
| 1880 | #897 | #309 | 5 | 30 |
How popular is Lynn, counting every spelling?
Lynn is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,679 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #2,558 for Lynn on its own. Together these spellings went to 107 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lynn | 69 | #2,558 | 303 |
| Linh | 16 | #7,008 | 61 |
| Lynne | 6 | #14,259 | 42 |
| Lin | 7 | #12,636 | 35 |
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 Lynn?
69 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Lynn (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Lynn 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 122 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Lynn.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Lynn?
About 144,200 people born in the US named Lynn are alive today, with a median age of 66; half are between 59 and 72. That makes Lynn a name most people associate with older generations.
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.
Lynn by state
How common Lynn was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 45 states fewer than five girls 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 Lynn: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Lynn, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Lynn · Sibling names for Lynn
Questions about the name Lynn
What does Lynn mean?
Lynn means “lake or pool (surname)” (English, Welsh origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Lynn?
Lynn was the 2558th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 69 babies. Its best year was 1956, when it ranked 58th with 7,736 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 305 places. More babies were named Lynn in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Lynn a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 79% girls, 21% boys given the name Lynn in the US.
Where is Lynn most popular?
In 2021–2025, Lynn was most common in California (0.05 per 1,000 girls), followed by New York and Texas.