NameCensus.

UK boy's name

Arlyn

A feminine name, a variant of Arline, meaning "pledge" or "oath".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Arlyn is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Arlyn popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #5119, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2022, with 5 births.

This profile covers 14 England and Wales registrations across 4 recorded years from 2020 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 60% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 18 living people in the UK are called Arlyn. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Arlyn ranked #5119 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 3 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2022, when 5 boys were registered as Arlyn.
  • Arlyn ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #590 in 2022.
  • About 18 living people in the UK are estimated to have Arlyn as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#5119

2024

Births in 2024

3

Latest year

Peak year

2022

5 births

Estimated living

18

2026

Meaning

What does Arlyn mean?

The name Arlyn is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon era of the 5th to 11th centuries. The name is thought to be a combination of the Old English words "ær" meaning "honor" or "noble" and "lind" meaning "linden tree" or "shield." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were perceived as honorable or noble, or who possessed qualities associated with strength and protection, symbolized by the linden tree or shield.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arlyn can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as a variant spelling, "Ærlind," which further reinforces its Anglo-Saxon origins.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Arlyn. One such figure was Arlyn Sieker (1912-2004), an American baseball player who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox in the 1930s and 1940s. Another was Arlyn Eshbach (1949-2021), an American science fiction author and editor, best known for her work in the fantasy genre.

In the literary world, Arlyn Snowden (1932-2016) was an American poet and educator who taught at various universities and published several collections of poetry. Arlyn Gries (1936-2018) was an American painter and sculptor, known for her abstract expressionist works and her contributions to the art scene in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Arlyn Naw (born 1950) is a Burmese politician and women's rights activist who has been a member of the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Parliament of Myanmar, since 2012. She has been a vocal advocate for gender equality and democratic reforms in her country.

It is worth noting that while the name Arlyn has historical roots in the Anglo-Saxon language and culture, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world over time. However, the specific details and references provided in this report focus primarily on the name's origins and earliest known instances within the context of English history and literature.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Arlyn over time

The chart below shows babies named Arlyn registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2020 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Arlyn, the clearest high point is 2022. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2024, compared with 5 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Arlyn
01345202020222024

Decades

Arlyn by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Arlyn was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #4542 14 4

Geography

Where Arlyn is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Arlyn. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Arlyn ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #590 in 2022.

Scotland
4

Across the UK

Arlyn in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#590 in 2022

1 years of NRS records, 4 total registered

Related

Names similar to Arlyn

FAQ

Arlyn: questions and answers

How popular is the name Arlyn in the UK right now?

In 2024, Arlyn was ranked #5119 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.

When was Arlyn most popular?

The peak year on record was 2022, with 5 babies registered as Arlyn in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Arlyn?

A feminine name, a variant of Arline, meaning "pledge" or "oath".

How many people are called Arlyn in the UK?

A total of 14 babies have been registered as Arlyn across the 4 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 4 more in Scotland.

Where is Arlyn most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Arlyn ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #590 in 2022. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.