boys' name ★ peaked 2025

Waylon

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #56 Trend ↑ Rising 60%

Variant of Wayland popularized by the American singer Waylon Jennings who was originally named Wayland.

Rank 2025
#56
among boys · ↑9 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
5,425
named Waylon · +10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 316
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
5,425 babies
All-time total
55,338
#473 all-time among boys
First recorded
1911
in Social Security records

Waylon popularity over time

55,338 babies have been named Waylon since 1911, 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
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – 34 34 3 – #1,988
1920s – 107 107 11 +215% #1,819
1930s – 187 187 19 +75% #1,246
1940s – 181 181 18 -3% #1,586
1950s – 141 141 14 -22% #1,642
1960s – 320 320 32 +127% #781
1970s – 1,604 1,604 160 +401% #465
1980s – 1,945 1,945 195 +21% #419
1990s – 1,206 1,206 121 -38% #913
2000s – 3,345 3,345 335 +177% #480
2010s 114 17,612 17,726 1,773 +430% #113
2020s (to 2025) 176 28,366 28,542 4,757 +168% #56

Where Waylon is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 5,866 3.43 #50
2027 6,286 3.68 #40
2028 6,667 3.90 #36
2029 7,009 4.10 #32
2030 7,313 4.28 #29

Where Waylon is most popular

Boys named Waylon per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.87 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Wyoming, and Kentucky.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Waylon 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 494 15.1 +427%
Wyoming 76 13.1 +358%
Kentucky 1,016 10.1 +253%
Vermont 61 9.71 +239%
Montana 170 9.64 +236%
Mississippi 486 8.55 +198%
Arkansas 506 8.00 +179%
Tennessee 1,363 7.55 +163%
Alaska 83 6.97 +143%
Alabama 757 6.92 +141%
Maine 131 6.75 +135%
Missouri 934 6.74 +135%
Oklahoma 577 6.52 +127%
South Carolina 621 6.01 +109%
Iowa 406 5.89 +105%
South Dakota 108 5.80 +102%
North Dakota 98 5.74 +100%
Idaho 232 5.67 +98%
Indiana 879 5.48 +91%
North Carolina 1,385 5.42 +89%
Kansas 361 5.26 +83%
Louisiana 516 5.04 +76%
Ohio 1,308 4.94 +72%
Nebraska 197 4.53 +58%
Wisconsin 524 4.42 +54%
Georgia 1,086 4.29 +49%
Oregon 319 4.20 +46%
Michigan 757 3.70 +29%
Virginia 700 3.69 +29%
New Hampshire 81 3.65 +27%
Minnesota 447 3.64 +27%
Delaware 50 3.30 +15%
Pennsylvania 856 3.22 +12%
Washington 470 2.87 ≈ national
Utah 272 2.85 ≈ national
New Mexico 88 2.67 -7%
Colorado 316 2.45 -15%
Florida 1,139 2.41 -16%
Illinois 594 2.32 -19%
Texas 1,982 2.25 -22%
Maryland 253 2.12 -26%
Arizona 333 2.04 -29%
Nevada 114 2.00 -30%
New York 452 1.04 -64%
California 898 0.982 -66%
Connecticut 62 0.916 -68%
Massachusetts 97 0.705 -75%
New Jersey 78 0.387 -86%
Hawaii 6 0.386 -87%
Rhode Island 5 0.307 -89%
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 Waylon

Waylon is a top-100 name for boys in the United States, ranked #56 in 2025 with 5,408 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1911, 55,338 American babies have been named Waylon. Its peak came in 2025, when 5,425 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 Waylon stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Waylon?

The median living Waylon is about 5 years old; half are between 2 and 10. An estimated 54 thousand people named Waylon are alive in the United States today.

median 5 020406080100

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

Waylon 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 17 #6,818 5,408 #56
2024 27 #5,018 4,892 #65
2023 36 #4,108 4,895 #63
2022 35 #4,196 4,923 #66
2021 30 #4,602 4,660 #69
2020 31 #4,443 3,588 #103
2019 28 #4,900 3,441 #113
2018 17 #7,085 2,790 #142
2017 18 #6,790 2,427 #162
2016 23 #5,780 2,060 #196
2015 12 #9,456 1,761 #222
2014 8 #13,006 1,501 #251
2013 8 #13,085 1,201 #290
2012 – – 972 #324
2011 – – 802 #373
2010 – – 657 #421
2009 – – 571 #480
2008 – – 480 #547
2007 – – 502 #520
2006 – – 466 #544
2005 – – 365 #615
2004 – – 290 #689
2003 – – 207 #842
2002 – – 228 #759
2001 – – 105 #1,276
2000 – – 131 #1,082
1995 – – 109 #1,088
1990 – – 113 #994
1985 – – 180 #655
1980 – – 387 #419
1975 – – 116 #771
1970 – – 119 #758
1965 – – 11 #2,613
1960 – – 9 #3,072
1955 – – 11 #2,553
1950 – – 11 #2,434
1945 – – 15 #1,849
1940 – – 18 #1,678
1935 – – 18 #1,706
1930 – – 15 #2,077
1925 – – 9 #3,145
1920 – – 9 #3,198
1915 – – 6 #3,813
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Waylon

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings American country musician (1937–2002) Contemporary
  2. 2 Waylon Waylon Dutch singer (born 1980) Contemporary
  3. 3 Waylon Francis Waylon Francis Costa Rican football player (born 1990) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Waylon?

The median living Waylon is about 5 years old. Half of all living Waylons are between 2 and 10 years old.

How many people named Waylon are alive today?

An estimated 54 thousand people named Waylon are alive in the United States, based on 55,338 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Waylon mean?

Variant of Wayland popularized by the American singer Waylon Jennings who was originally named Wayland.

How popular is the name Waylon in 2025?

Waylon ranked #56 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 5,408 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Waylon?

55,338 babies have been named Waylon in the United States since 1911, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Waylon most popular?

Waylon peaked in 2025, when 5,425 newborns received the name.

Is Waylon a boy or girl name?

Waylon is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Waylon rising or falling?

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

Will Waylon become more popular?

Waylon is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 7,313 boys named Waylon in 2030, which would rank around #29. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Waylon?

Well-known people named Waylon include Waylon Jennings (singer), Waylon (singer), Waylon Francis (soccer player).

Names like Waylon

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

Compare Waylon with similar names → More names starting with W →