unisex name
Lynn
LIN
- Origin Welsh
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 242,184
Northern Ireland
#393
1998 births
Lynn is a name from a Welsh and Gaelic word for a lake or a pool below a waterfall. About 78 percent of the births in our records are female, though it began as a boys' name and a surname.
- Lynn is a name of Welsh origin.
- Peaked in 1956, when 8,989 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 39,470 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Lynn started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Lynn over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 287 |
| 1890s | 394 |
| 1900s | 535 |
| 1910s | 2,830 |
| 1920s | 4,992 |
| 1930s | 10,024 |
| 1940s | 43,590 |
| 1950s | 79,823 |
| 1960s | 58,304 |
| 1970s | 19,932 |
| 1980s | 7,898 |
| 1990s | 2,975 |
| 2000s | 1,598 |
| 2010s | 1,122 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 474 |
What Lynn means
Lynn means a lake, or the pool below a waterfall. The Welsh llyn and the Gaelic linne both name standing water, and the word entered English dialect with the same sense.
Where Lynn comes from
Lynn comes from the Welsh llyn or the Gaelic linne, a lake or pool — and specifically, in Scots and northern English, the deep pool at the foot of a waterfall, which is why Lynn appears in so many place names near falls. King's Lynn in Norfolk carries it. It became a surname and then a boys' given name, and turned decisively female in twentieth-century America, where it also became one of the most common second elements in compound names: Carolyn, Marilyn, Jacquelyn and Evelyn all end with it, though Evelyn's is a coincidence of spelling rather than the same word.
Lynn in use
Lynn peaked in the United States in 1956, when 8,989 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 682nd in France on 60 births, 2546th in the United States on 84 and 4525th in England and Wales, across 242,184 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. About 78 percent of recorded births are female, and France now gives it much the strongest position.
How popular is Lynn?
In 2025, Lynn was given to 84 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Lynn 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 Lynn
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lynn also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lynn over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Lynn 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.
- Dutch
- Linn
Sibling names for Lynn
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lynn — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lynn
What does the name Lynn mean?
A lake, or the pool below a waterfall — from the Welsh llyn or Gaelic linne.
Is Lynn a boys' name?
It began as one, and about 22 percent of the births in our records are still male.
Why do so many names end in -lyn?
Lynn became a productive second element in American naming — Carolyn, Marilyn and Jacquelyn all use it.
How popular is Lynn?
682nd in France, its strongest market, and 2546th in the United States.
How many syllables are in Lynn?
Lynn has 1 syllable.
Is Lynn a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lynn currently ranks #682 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.