Girls' name · since 1900
Carlyn
Carlyn has 4,306 recorded births since 1900 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1992 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #2,842 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #8,388 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,306
- born since 1900
- 1990s
- peak decade
Carlyn currently ranks #8388 among girls' names in America, with 4,306 babies recorded since 1900.
Carlyn has 4,306 recorded births among girls since 1900, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #8388 as of the latest data, more common than 52% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1900 to 2025.
- #2,842 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #8,388 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 4,306 born since 1900
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Carlyn ranks #2,842 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #8,388 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 4,306 born since 1900, peaking in the 1990s.
- #2,842 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #8,388 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,306
- born since 1900
- 1990s
- peak decade
Carlyn's 4,306 recorded births place it above 96.06% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
18 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Carlyn compares
4,306 Top 15% higher than 85% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Carlyn's all-time total is 11x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Carlyn | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 4,306 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 74 | 21 | 19,840 |
Carlyn's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Carlyn's SSA record in two at 1966 and the more recent half accounts for 59% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 41%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1900, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1992 peak of 74, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Carlyn popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1900–2025
- Peak year (1992)
- 74
- Annual births at peak, across 126 years of records
Carlyn popularity over time - boys
67 total births recorded since 1924 (Carlyn as boys' name)
Carlyn by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (614 births, 14% of the file).
1990s was Carlyn's strongest decade.
614 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.
Carlyn births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1900s 22
1900s
22 births
- 1910s 105
1910s
105 births
- 1920s 184
1920s
184 births
- 1930s
1930s
270 births
- 1940s
1940s
486 births
- 1950s
1950s
417 births
- 1960s
1960s
437 births
- 1970s
1970s
320 births
- 1980s
1980s
567 births
- 1990s
1990s
614 births
- 2000s
2000s
505 births
- 2010s
2010s
302 births
- 2020s 77
2020s
77 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 614 births (14% of all-time use).
How Carlyn compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Carlyn's total volume
Carlyn by state
Where Carlyn concentrates geographically, total births since 1900
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 242 | 5.6% |
| #2 | Texas | | 123 | 2.9% |
| #3 | Pennsylvania | | 58 | 1.3% |
| #4 | New York | | 49 | 1.1% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 37 | 0.9% |
| #6 | Virginia | | 34 | 0.8% |
| #7 | Maryland | | 31 | 0.7% |
| #8 | Florida | | 22 | 0.5% |
242 of 4,306 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 18 reporting states.
Carlyn appears in 18 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Carlyn sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Carlyn most popular? ▼
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What to do with Carlyn's data
- Carlyn's decade-level peak was the 1990s (614 total births); usage has since declined to 77 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Carlyns (242 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Carlyn
Nearby Names Like Carlyn
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Carlyn
Compare Carlyn side by side: Carlyn vs Carol Carlyn vs Carolyn Carlyn vs Carrie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Carlyn
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Carlyn: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1992)
Similar record span (~125 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1900–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Carlyn draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.