Boys' name · since 1913

Lyell

Since 1913, U.S. Social Security records show 140 babies named Lyell, peaking in 1920. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#15,224 of 45,481
all-time among boys
140
born since 1913
1920s
peak decade

Lyell is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 140 have been recorded since 1913.

Lyell has 140 recorded births among boys since 1913, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1913 to 1991.

  • #15,224 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • 140 born since 1913
  • 1920s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lyell ranks #15,224 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). 140 born since 1913, peaking in the 1920s.

#15,224 of 45,481
all-time among boys
140
born since 1913
1920s
peak decade
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Lyell's 140 recorded births place it above 66.48% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

Lyell's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Lyell's full recorded timeline at 1926, 49% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 51% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1914, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1920 peak of 12 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Lyell popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1913–1991

Last recorded 1991
Peak year (1920)
12
Annual births at peak, across 79 years of records
468101214 19131917192119251930193419501991 5

Lyell by decade

1920s is the heaviest window (57 births, 41% of the file).

1920s was Lyell's strongest decade.

57 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 41% of all-time use.

Lyell births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1920s at 57 births (41% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Lyell? ▼
140 babies have been named Lyell since 1913. All-time, it sits at #15,224 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. It was last recorded in 1991. The peak year was 1920 with 12 births.
Where does Lyell sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Lyell ranks #15,224 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first). All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the null SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Lyell most popular? ▼
Lyell was most popular in the 1920s decade with 57 total births. The single peak year was 1920.
How long has the name Lyell been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Lyell since 1913 -- 79 years through the most recent 1991 data.

What to do with Lyell's data

  • Lyell's decade-level peak was the 1920s (57 total births); usage has since declined to 5 in the 1990s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Lyell

Related Names

Names with a similar number of total births

Ovide
140 births · Peak 1921
Dover
140 births · Peak 1922
Ponce
140 births · Peak 1949
Tereso
140 births · Peak 1988
Pruitt #7750
140 births · Peak 2023
Jerauld
140 births · Peak 1935
Arnol #10828
140 births · Peak 2003
Marv
140 births · Peak 1959

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Lyell: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1913–1991 (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 Lyell 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.