Jerilyn

Meaning of Jerilyn

Jerilyn is a mid-20th-century American female name, coined as a blend of Geraldine and Marilyn and reflecting Germanic and English roots. The first element traces to Gerald—with a meaning of “rule of the spear”—while the suffix “-lyn,” popularized in post-war America, also echoes the Spanish linda, meaning “beautiful.” Pronounced jer-uh-lin (/ˈdʒərɪ.lɪn/), Jerilyn exemplifies the two-part constructions of its era and fits smoothly into Spanish phonology, a factor in its modest adoption among Latin-American families. In Indiana, the name first appeared in records in 1941 at rank 122 with seven newborns, reached its highest annual birth count of 25 in 1962, and maintained steady, if modest, use through the late 1960s.