Whalen
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- WAY-lun
- Origin
- Irish
- US rank, 2025
- #8,906 for boys
Whalen is a boys' name of Irish origin, meaning “little wolf”. In 2025 it ranked 8,906th for boys in the US (8 babies).
What does Whalen mean?
Irish: Irish surname, variant of Whelan from Ó Faoláin
“little wolf”
From the Irish surname Ó Faoláin, descendant of Faolán, a name meaning little wolf.
Is Whalen a girl's or a boy's name?
Whalen is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 8 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Whalen in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 8,906th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 8 about 1 in 210,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 8 boys in the US were named Whalen, making it the 8,906th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 7,497th. Its busiest year was 2021, with 14 boys. It first appears in the records in 1948.
2025 had fewer boys named Whalen than any year since 2018.
Half of all the boys named Whalen in the US since 1880 were born between 1999 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 5,855 boys in the US were given Whalen or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #59, up from #8,906 for this spelling alone.
Whalen in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #8,906 |
| 2024 | 10 | #7,760 |
| 2023 | 13 | #6,512 |
| 2022 | 9 | #8,293 |
| 2021 | 14 | #6,027 |
| 2020 | 10 | #7,497 |
| 2019 | 10 | #7,638 |
| 2018 | 7 | #9,664 |
| 2017 | 11 | #7,091 |
| 2016 | 5 | #12,180 |
| 2015 | 9 | #8,035 |
| 2014 | 10 | #7,557 |
| 2013 | 9 | #8,113 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 6 | #10,801 |
| 2010 | 5 | #12,224 |
| 2009 | 10 | #7,687 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 5 | #11,464 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 5 | #9,905 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 5 | #6,054 |
| 1978 | 5 | #5,769 |
| 1977 | 6 | #5,121 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 8 | #3,656 |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 6 | #3,600 |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 6 | #3,557 |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 5 | #3,688 |
| 1948 | 6 | #3,315 |
Names like Whalen
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aiden, Callan, Brayden, Raiden, Ronan, Kayden, Declan, Madden, Finn, Rowan, Callahan, Kian
Other spellings of Whalen
Waylon, Waylen, Waylan, Waylin, Waylyn, Waylynn, Waelyn, Weylin, Weylyn
Names related to Whalen
More Irish names
Oscar, Rory, Maeve, Ryan, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Cody, Erin, Connor, Casey, Kennedy, Lennon, Cillian, Kevin, Sloane
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Whalen: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/whalen, updated 20 October 2026.