Waylon
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Meaning
variant of Wayland; meaning uncertain
The story
An old name in the landscape leads into Waylon’s history. Wayland’s Smithy appears under a form of that name in an English charter of 955. The tomb itself was already thousands of years old when it acquired the Saxon name. Wayland comes from Old English Weland, the extraordinary smith of Germanic legend, called Völundr in Old Norse. Waylon is a later variant of Wayland, whose origin is probably connected with a word for craft or cunning.
Local folklore attached to Wayland’s Smithy says that a traveler could leave a horse and a coin and return to find the horse fitted with new horseshoes by an unseen smith.
Waylon Jennings gave the modern spelling its country-music association. In his struggle for greater control over recording, the choices at stake were practical: which songs to sing, which studio to use and which musicians to work with. Albums such as Lonesome, On’ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, both released in 1973, reflected that greater artistic freedom. “Outlaw” described a movement concerned with such choices in country music. The name reference Behind the Name credits Jennings with popularizing Waylon. Wanted! The Outlaws brought together recordings by Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser and became the first country album to earn platinum certification, an award for high record sales.
How popular is Waylon around the world?
In the United States, 28,542 babies were named Waylon between 2020 and 2025.
Waylon is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales, France and Brazil.
United States
1 in 760
In the United States, 28,542 babies were named Waylon between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Waylon peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 1,900
In Canada, 190 boys named Waylon were born in 2024, the 177th 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)
England and Wales
1 in 59,000
In England and Wales, 10 boys named Waylon were born in 2025, ranked 2,269th 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
France
1 in 64,000
In France, about 10 boys named Waylon were born in 2025, ranked 2,589th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 118 people in Brazil were named Waylon, ranked 36,689th, with a median age of 11.
Among people named Waylon living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
New Zealand
last on record 1981
Waylon is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
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
South Australia
last on record 2014
Waylon is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Scotland 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 Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Waylon
Most people given the name Waylon 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Waylon · Names that go with Waylon · Middle names for Waylon
The Waylon deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Waylon 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 Waylon fits with your family’s names and surname.
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