Humanverse

Waylynn vs Wayman

American parents have registered 2,850 Waymans since 1880, against 502 Waylynns. But in 2025 it was Waylynn that was commoner, 40 babies to fewer than five.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Waylynn against Wayman, 1880 to 2025 0 20 40 60 80 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Waylynn Wayman

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 129 years in which either name was published, Wayman for 115 years and Waylynn for 14 years. The lead changed hands once.

Side by side

  Waylynn Wayman
Total US births 5022,850
Most in one year 6159
Babies in 2025 40under 5
Estimated living today 5001,200
Median age today 563
Peak year 20191950
Best rank 3,337th girls893rd boys
Rank in 2025 5,917thunranked
First recorded 20111884
Girls / boys 362 / 1400 / 2,850

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Waymans alive today are over 63; half the Waylynns are over 5. That is 58 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Waylynn and Wayman.