Waylan is of Scottish origin, meaning 'stranger'. It is derived from the Gaelic name Faelan, which is composed of two elements: 'faol', meaning wolf, and '-an', a diminutive suffix. Therefore, Waylan could be interpreted as 'little wolf'. This name gained popularity in the United States during the 1970s but has since become less common. It is often confused with similar-sounding names such asylan and Waylon.
The name Waylan had a steady popularity with 6 babies named in 2019 and 5 in 2020, making it a total of 11 newborns over those two years.