Joleen vs Jolynn
American parents have registered 6,670 Joleens since 1880, against 4,620 Jolynns. Joleen is still ahead, with 21 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Joleen Jolynn
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 101 years in which either name was published, Joleen for 80 years and Jolynn for 21 years. The lead changed hands 24 times.
- 1925–2003 Joleen ahead, apart from 5 short spells
- 2008–2020 Jolynn ahead, apart from 2 short spells
- 2021–2023 Joleen ahead
15 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.
Side by side
| Joleen | Jolynn | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 6,670 | 4,620 |
| Most in one year | 187 | 107 |
| Babies in 2025 | 21 | 17 |
| Estimated living today | 5,800 | 4,200 |
| Median age today | 49 | 47 |
| Peak year | 1974 | 1962 |
| Best rank | 754th girls | 1,043rd girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 5,722nd | 6,546th |
| First recorded | 1925 | 1935 |
| Girls / boys | 6,670 / 0 | 4,620 / 0 |
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 Joleens alive today are over 49; half the Jolynns are over 47. That is 2 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Joleen Iowa (9.9×), Minnesota (6.9×), Kansas (4.5×)
- Jolynn Utah (8.2×), South Dakota (5.5×), Texas (3.5×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Joleen and Jolynn.