How common is the surname Lynn?

37,644 people in the United States had the surname Lynn in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,202 Americans. It ranked 924th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Lynn?

Loretta Lynn, American country singer (1932–2022), followed by Diana Lynn.

Where is the surname Lynn most common?

Wikidata records people named Lynn in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.

Is the surname Lynn getting more or less common?

More common. 37,125 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 37,644 in 2010, up 1.4%.

Is Lynn also a first name?

Yes. Lynn is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Lynn

A Welsh place surname, carried by 37,644 people in the United States.

Pronounced /lɪn/ 1 syllable Soundex L500 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Lynn is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

Welsh origin

An English habitational surname from Welsh, from King's Lynn in Norfolk, from Welsh llyn (“lake”) or Old English lean (“reward”, implying land tenure).

Lynn is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 60 Welsh surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 37,644 people named Lynn in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,202 Americans. That is up 1.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 37,125.

#924

rank among US surnames

37,644

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+1.4%

change since 2000 (was #847)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#915	Dougherty	37,884	8,150
#916	Crane	37,870	8,153
#917	Haley	37,858	8,155
#918	Phan	37,836	8,160
#919	Villalobos	37,754	8,178
#920	Blanchard	37,695	8,191
#921	Horne	37,689	8,192

Who is named Lynn

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

85% of people named Lynn identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.0% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 85%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Lynns

27 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Loretta Lynn
American country singer (1932–2022)
Diana Lynn
American actress (1926-1971)
Gina Lynn
American pornographic actress, born 1974
Jonathan Lynn
British director, writer, and actor, born 1943
Cheryl Lynn
American singer, born 1957
Jeffrey Lynn
American actor (1909-1995)
Krissy Lynn
American pornographic actress, born 1984
Jerry Lynn
American professional wrestler, born 1963
Janet Lynn
American figure skater, born 1953
Porsche Lynn
American pornographic actress, born 1962
Betty Lynn
American actress, 1926–2021
Sharon Lynn
American actress (1901–1963)

Notable Lynns come mostly from the United States (24), the United Kingdom (1) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Lyn
Lynne

Surnames that sound like Lynn

Lynn has the Soundex code L500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L500.

Other Welsh surnames

All 60 Welsh surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Lynn come from?: Lynn is Welsh in origin.
How common is the surname Lynn?: 37,644 people in the United States had the surname Lynn in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,202 Americans. It ranked 924th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Lynn?: In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Lynn identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.0% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Lynn?: Loretta Lynn, American country singer (1932–2022), followed by Diana Lynn.
Where is the surname Lynn most common?: Wikidata records people named Lynn in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Lynn?: Lynn is /lɪn/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Lynn?: Lynn is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Lynn getting more or less common?: More common. 37,125 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 37,644 in 2010, up 1.4%.
What are other spellings of Lynn?: Lyn and Lynne.
Is Lynn also a first name?: Yes. Lynn is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.