Flynn
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Meaning
“Irish surname 'descendant of the red-haired one'”
The story
Flynn began as an Irish surname, the English form of Ó Floinn, a descendant of someone called Flann. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn made that family name sound like a voice carrying over a crowd. As a young labor organizer, she spoke for textile workers and helped lead the Paterson silk strike, where immigrant workers challenged long hours and harsh conditions. She later served on the founding board of the American Civil Liberties Union. The organization expelled her during its anticommunist turn, then restored her membership after her death. That difficult arc is more interesting than a spotless hero story. Flynn can evoke inherited Irish language, but also a woman testing whether institutions would defend dissent when dissent became uncomfortable. Her life does not define every bearer. It shows how a brisk surname can gather argument, courage, contradiction, and a public microphone.
How popular is Flynn around the world?
In the United States, 2,269 babies were named Flynn between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 27 boys were registered as Flynn in 2017.
Flynn is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Scotland, New South Wales, New Zealand, England and Wales, Ireland, Canada and Austria.
United States
1 in 9,600
In the United States, 2,269 babies were named Flynn between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Flynn peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 6602017
In South Australia, 27 boys were registered as Flynn in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 1,100
In Scotland, 42 boys named Flynn were registered in 2024, the 118th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
New South Wales
#90 · 2025
In New South Wales, 94 boys named Flynn were registered in 2025, ranked 90th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 1,300
In New Zealand, 44 boys named Flynn were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
England and Wales
1 in 2,700
In England and Wales, 218 boys named Flynn were born in 2025, the 227th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 4,200
In Ireland, 13 boys named Flynn were born in 2025, the 317th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 10,000
In Canada, 35 boys named Flynn were born in 2024, the 756th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 3 boys named Flynn were born in 2025, the 981st most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Flynn
Most people given the name Flynn in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Flynn deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Flynn truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Flynn fits with your family’s names and surname.
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