AndralynShe’s a straight-up smoosh name with roots in the 1970s, and a twenty-first century sound.

Thanks to Alli for suggesting her daughter’s name as our Baby Name of the Day: Andralyn.

We tend to think of Andrew as a classic, and that’s fair – the name has been worn by princes and presidents, a perennial member of the US Top 100 for boys.

Andrew didn’t become really popular until the 1980s, the first decade the name entered the US Top Ten.

Maybe that’s why Andrea was relatively rare until the middle of the twentieth century.  Back in the 1880s, Andrea didn’t even crack the US Top 1000.  In 1930, the name ranked #566.  It wasn’t until 1962 that Andrea joined Andrew in the US Top 100.

Andrea remained in the Top 100 through 2012, peaking in the late 70s and early 80s.

While Andrea is headed into mom name territory today, there’s still a lot of life in the Andrew names.  Other feminine forms include:

  • Andria – a slight spelling variation, and like Andrea, considered masculine in some languages.
  • Andra – the slimmed down form.
  • Andi and Andie – Molly Ringwald’s character in Pretty in Pink spelled in with an -ie, and if she was actually Andrea, the movie never mentioned it.
  • Andrina – an elaboration.
  • Drea – as in The Sopranos alum, Emmy-winning actress Drea de Matteo.

Andralyn smooshes the abbreviated Andra with the popular -lyn ending.  There have been stylish names ending in -lyn throughout the twentieth century, from Marilyn to Madelyn to Kaitlyn to Brooklyn to Evelyn.

A handful of girls have been given the name over the years – 11 in 2003, five in 2010.

But there’s something else appealing about Andralyn.  While the name is clearly intended for a girl, there are echoes of gender neutral names like Addison and Aniston in Andralyn.

Other similar smooshes seeing some use include:

  • Amberlyn, one that echoes girls named Amber Lynn in an earlier decade.
  • Kimberlyn, another attempt to freshen up a mom name with the -lyn ending.
  • Jessalyn, see above.

Does it work as a name?  Mix and match often falls flat – is Haelle pronounced like Hailey or Hallie or Hayelle?

That’s the beauty of -lyn.  Paired with nearly any two-syllable given name, -lyn is an easy addition.

While the -lyn spelling is most common overall, -lynn and -lynne are possibilities, meaning that no just-add-lyn name is exempt from spelling questions.

Andralyn also fits with our growing interest in Ann- names.  First came Annabelle, a vintage charmer back in vogue thanks to her -belle ending.  Now we’re hearing Annalise – choose your spelling, though this is the most popular – as well as Annie, Anne, Annika, and Marianna on the rise.

All of this makes her a modern rarity, one that is unlikely to crack the US Top 100 – or even 1000 – anytime soon, but remains perfectly wearable in 2014.

What’s your favorite ends-with-lyn name?  Do you prefer -lyn, -lynn, or -lynne endings?

About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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What do you think?

4 Comments

  1. Instead of Andrea, to me, this name evokes more of the “andra” in Alexandra and Leandra. I love your reference to Andi/Andie in Pretty in Pink.

  2. So this may be a site issue or a me issue, but I haven’t been able to see comments for a few days…

    I don’t care for Andralyn it sounds like a hormone to me between adrenaline and androgen.

  3. I want to share a name not related to the Andr- root at all but that carries the -lyn ending – my nieces name is Eislyn which I love.

  4. I like Andra, but I really dislike -lyn names because that ending is so trendy and because of my own experience with having Lynn for a middle name, so I’m not crazy about Andralyn.

    There are very few -lyn names that I like, regardless of how the ending is spelled. Ex: Aislinn/Aislin (Ash-lynn.), Evelyn, and Madeleine, but only that spelling, not Madelyn/Madalyn/Madilyn, etc…