About Baylor
Baylor is a surname used as a given name for both boys and girls. Its deeper derivation is uncertain, but its public associations are unusually clear: Baylor University carries the surname of a nineteenth-century judge, while basketball player Elgin Baylor gave it a major place in American sporting history.
Origin and sound
One proposed explanation connects Baylor with Beiler, a German surname associated with a Middle High German word for a measuring stick. That possible route should not be treated as the established history of every family named Baylor.
As a first name, Baylor follows the familiar practice of using a family name in the given-name position. It is pronounced BAY-ler in American English, with two syllables and stress on the first. The opening rhymes with day; the final syllable is lighter.
Its spelling makes the surname connection especially recognizable. Unlike a traditional diminutive, Baylor does not need a longer personal name to explain its modern use.
The name behind Baylor University
Baylor University was named for Judge Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor. President Anson Jones of the Republic of Texas signed its charter on 1 February 1845, giving the surname a permanent place in the institution's identity.
Baylor, James Huckins, and William Milton Tryon had worked toward establishing a Baptist university. An education society organized in 1841 helped turn that ambition into a concrete project.
The judge's own career included law and politics before his move into religious work. He served in state legislatures in Kentucky and Alabama and represented Alabama in the United States Congress.
His contributions to the university included work as a donor and law professor. Although the institution bears his name, he never served as its president. The name commemorates his role in its founding rather than a period at its head.
Elgin Baylor
Elgin Baylor was an innovative basketball scorer whose body control and airborne play helped change the way the game looked. He became closely associated with the Lakers and formed a formidable scoring partnership with Jerry West.
On 15 November 1960, Baylor scored 71 points against the New York Knicks, becoming the first NBA player to exceed seventy in a game. His career also included eleven All-Star selections and ten selections to the All-NBA First Team.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined him in 1977. Here Baylor is the player's surname, while Elgin is his given name; the sporting association is one of the reasons the surname is widely recognizable.
American popularity
Baylor's largest annual boys' total in the United States SSA series was 905 in 2024, when it ranked #365. In 2025, it was recorded for 822 boys, ranking #386, and 407 girls, ranking #694. The girls' count was its largest annual total for that sex.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Wiktionary and Wikipedia material is adapted with attribution under CC BY-SA 4.0 where applicable. American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling; name-sex-year totals below five are omitted.
- Wiktionary: Baylor (English)
- SSA national data
- Wikidata: Baylor Scheierman
- Wiktionary: Baylor
- Baylor University: naming history
- Texas State Historical Association: Baylor University
- Basketball Hall of Fame: Elgin Baylor
Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
How popular is Baylor?
In 2025, Baylor ranked #386 among boys in the United States, with 822 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1918; its largest annual count was 905 in 2024. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.