girls' name ★ peaked 2025

Lainey

Meaning A diminutive of the female given name Elaine Gender Girl Rank 2025 #30 Trend ↑ Rising 551%

A diminutive of the female given name Elaine.

Rank 2025
#30
among girls · ↑8 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
5,743
named Lainey · +11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 280
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2025
5,743 babies
All-time total
28,431
#863 all-time among girls
First recorded
1968
in Social Security records

Lainey popularity over time

28,431 babies have been named Lainey since 1968, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s 6 – 6 1 – #6,626
1970s 10 – 10 1 +67% #9,076
1980s 195 – 195 20 +1850% #3,216
1990s 655 – 655 66 +236% #1,650
2000s 3,180 – 3,180 318 +385% #669
2010s 5,769 – 5,769 577 +81% #381
2020s (to 2025) 18,606 10 18,616 3,103 +438% #30

Where Lainey is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 7,405 4.61 #14
2027 9,197 5.72 #8
2028 11,057 6.88 #7
2029 12,932 8.05 #3
2030 14,773 9.19 #1

Where Lainey is most popular

Girls named Lainey per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.19 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Lainey born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Wyoming 52 12.2 +457%
South Dakota 154 10.8 +393%
North Dakota 124 9.43 +331%
West Virginia 241 9.20 +320%
Montana 123 9.09 +315%
Vermont 34 7.01 +220%
Idaho 233 6.96 +218%
Kentucky 557 6.51 +197%
Nebraska 226 6.29 +187%
New Hampshire 108 5.85 +167%
Iowa 313 5.36 +145%
Wisconsin 543 5.27 +141%
Kansas 290 5.03 +130%
Minnesota 538 4.99 +128%
Maine 74 4.78 +119%
Delaware 54 4.76 +117%
Ohio 1,034 4.36 +99%
Missouri 516 4.28 +96%
Alabama 396 4.22 +93%
Indiana 587 4.18 +91%
Tennessee 662 4.18 +91%
Mississippi 193 4.13 +88%
Arkansas 214 4.05 +85%
Utah 337 4.05 +85%
Michigan 720 3.95 +81%
Alaska 34 3.95 +80%
Oklahoma 260 3.53 +61%
Pennsylvania 795 3.36 +54%
South Carolina 299 3.33 +52%
Oregon 212 3.26 +49%
North Carolina 701 3.08 +41%
Washington 408 2.82 +29%
Colorado 299 2.68 +22%
New Mexico 65 2.67 +22%
Virginia 443 2.60 +19%
Nevada 112 2.41 +10%
Louisiana 201 2.30 +5%
Arizona 322 2.29 +5%
Georgia 517 2.28 ≈ national
Maryland 238 2.25 ≈ national
Hawaii 25 2.18 ≈ national
Illinois 450 1.97 -10%
Florida 756 1.77 -19%
Texas 1,359 1.69 -23%
Connecticut 92 1.58 -28%
Massachusetts 191 1.58 -28%
New Jersey 238 1.32 -40%
New York 479 1.21 -45%
California 881 1.05 -52%
Rhode Island 9 0.719 -67%
District of Columbia – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Lainey

Lainey is a top-50 name for girls in the United States, ranked #30 in 2025 with 5,738 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1968, 28,431 American babies have been named Lainey. Its peak came in 2025, when 5,743 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Lainey stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Lainey?

The median living Lainey is about 2 years old; half are between 1 and 9. An estimated 28 thousand people named Lainey are alive in the United States today.

median 2 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Lainey year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 5,738 #30 5 #13,116
2024 5,156 #38 – –
2023 3,941 #54 – –
2022 1,698 #174 5 #13,508
2021 1,229 #250 – –
2020 844 #366 – –
2019 822 #381 – –
2018 684 #460 – –
2017 615 #510 – –
2016 577 #542 – –
2015 531 #576 – –
2014 514 #585 – –
2013 490 #584 – –
2012 516 #568 – –
2011 544 #533 – –
2010 476 #618 – –
2009 416 #700 – –
2008 433 #698 – –
2007 440 #669 – –
2006 388 #725 – –
2005 410 #679 – –
2004 320 #796 – –
2003 254 #928 – –
2002 183 #1,137 – –
2001 173 #1,183 – –
2000 163 #1,223 – –
1995 67 #2,038 – –
1990 60 #2,165 – –
1985 15 #4,978 – –
1980 13 #5,385 – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Lainey, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Lainey?

The median living Lainey is about 2 years old. Half of all living Laineys are between 1 and 9 years old.

How many people named Lainey are alive today?

An estimated 28 thousand people named Lainey are alive in the United States, based on 28,431 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Lainey mean?

A diminutive of the female given name Elaine.

How popular is the name Lainey in 2025?

Lainey ranked #30 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,738 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Lainey?

28,431 babies have been named Lainey in the United States since 1968, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Lainey most popular?

Lainey peaked in 2025, when 5,743 newborns received the name.

Is Lainey a boy or girl name?

Lainey is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Lainey rising or falling?

Lainey is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Lainey become more popular?

Lainey is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 14,773 girls named Lainey in 2030, which would rank around #1. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Names like Lainey

Names that sound and feel close to Lainey: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Lainey with similar names → More names starting with L →