unisex name
Baylor
BAY-lor
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 12,808
the United States
#386
2025 births
Baylor is a unisex name of English origin whose meaning is unsettled. It is generally read as a variant of the occupational surname Bailer, connected either to a bailiff or to a carrier of goods, and reference sources also offer horse trainer without agreeing on a source.
- Baylor is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 1,253 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,698 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1918.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Baylor over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 |
| 1920s | 21 |
| 1940s | 5 |
| 1980s | 23 |
| 1990s | 436 |
| 2000s | 1,437 |
| 2010s | 4,017 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,787 |
What Baylor means
Baylor is usually explained as one who delivers or carries, or as a form of bailiff, an officer of a manor. Neither is secure, and the horse-trainer reading offered by several name sites has no clear derivation behind it.
Where Baylor comes from
Baylor appears to be a variant of the English surname Bailer or Bayler, itself connected to the Middle English bailli, a bailiff or steward, from the Old French baillier, to deliver or hand over. That verb also gives the sense of one who carries goods, which is where the delivery reading comes from. An alternative traces it to the German Beiler. Surname dictionaries do not settle it. In American use the name is heavily associated with Baylor University in Texas, named for Judge R. E. B. Baylor, and its first-name popularity is a Texan and Southern phenomenon that has not traveled.
Baylor in use
Baylor charts in only two of the seven countries we track, making it among the most narrowly American names in the English-speaking top 1,000.
How popular is Baylor?
In 2025, Baylor was given to 1,229 babies in the United States, ranking #386 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Baylor is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Baylor
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Baylor also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Baylor over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Baylor
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Baylor in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Baylor
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Baylor — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Baylor
What does the name Baylor mean?
It is not settled. Bailiff and one who delivers goods are the usual readings, and some sources add horse trainer without a clear derivation.
Is Baylor a boy's or a girl's name?
Both, though it leans toward boys.
Is Baylor an American name?
In practice yes. It charts in only one of the six countries we track and its popularity is concentrated in Texas and the American South.
How popular is the name Baylor?
In 2025, Baylor was given to 1,229 babies in the United States, ranking #386 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Baylor?
Baylor has 2 syllables.
When was Baylor most popular?
Baylor peaked in 2024, when 1,253 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Baylor?
Baylor is usually shortened to Bay.
Is Baylor a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Baylor currently ranks #386 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.