boy's name
Whalen
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 203
Whalen is a boy's name with 2 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 8 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
- Peaked in 2021, when 14 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 414,422 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1948.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Whalen over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 11 |
| 1950s | 6 |
| 1960s | 6 |
| 1970s | 24 |
| 1990s | 5 |
| 2000s | 15 |
| 2010s | 72 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 64 |
How popular is Whalen?
In 2025, Whalen was given to 8 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
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 Whalen
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Whalen also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Whalen over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Whalen
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Whalen — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Whalen
How popular is the name Whalen?
In 2025, Whalen was given to 8 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Is Whalen a girl's or a boy's name?
Whalen is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Whalen?
Whalen has 2 syllables.
When was Whalen most popular?
Whalen peaked in 2021, when 14 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Whalen a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Whalen currently ranks #9,041 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.