FastNamesDylan
Welsh and Celtic name meaning "Derived from Welsh dy ('great', 'towards') and llanw ('tide', 'flow', 'surge'), signifying 'great wave', 'son of the sea', or 'tide'.". Ranked 41st for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Dylan
Derived from Welsh dy ('great', 'towards') and llanw ('tide', 'flow', 'surge'), signifying 'great wave', 'son of the sea', or 'tide'.
Linguistically, Dylan is classified under Welsh and Celtic naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "DIL-uhn".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Dylan has been given to a total of 418,679 boys. It has also been given to 16,272 girls.
Peak year: Dylan reached its highest relative share among boys in 2001, when 16,497 babies received the name (8,491 per million births).
All-time best rank: 19th place, first achieved in 2003.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 41st with 6,208 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 27th (down 14 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Dylan in the 2000s than in any other decade (140,125 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 97 |
| 1960s | 684 |
| 1970s | 4,036 |
| 1980s | 14,171 |
| 1990s | 122,074 |
| 2000s | 140,125 |
| 2010s | 96,354 |
| 2020s | 41,138 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Dylan is most common in the US
Accounting for when Dylan was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Vermont: 2.0 times the national rate (1,052 births since 1910).
- Maine: 1.6 times the national rate (2,095 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.5 times the national rate (2,062 births since 1910).
- Hawaii: 1.4 times the national rate (1,753 births since 1910).
- Rhode Island: 1.4 times the national rate (1,663 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Dylan?
About 410,000 living American boys and men share the name Dylan. Additionally, an estimated 16,000 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Dylan is 22 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Dylan
In ancient Welsh mythology, Dylan appears in the Mabinogi as Dylan Ail Don ('Dylan, Second Wave' or 'Son of the Sea'), the son of Arianrhod. According to medieval legend, immediately upon his baptism he plunged into the sea, where he swam as naturally as a fish and was mourned by the ocean waves when he met his untimely death, establishing him as an elemental spirit of the marine coastline.
The name was rescued from medieval antiquarian obscurity during the twentieth century by the celebrated Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), whose lyrical genius in works like Under Milk Wood brought the name international cultural acclaim. In the 1960s, folk icon Robert Zimmerman adopted the stage surname Bob Dylan in tribute to the poet, further elevating the name into global cultural consciousness.
In the United States, Dylan experienced a meteoric rise during the 1990s and early 2000s, propelled by its romantic Celtic heritage and clean, modern phonetics. It entered the national top fifty in 1992 and broke into the top twenty in 2001, reaching peak rank 19. It has achieved permanent status as a modern American classic, widely admired for its poetic rhythm and evocative oceanic roots.
Notable people named Dylan
- Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), Celebrated Welsh poet and writer
- Dylan O'Brien (1991–), American actor
- Dylan McDermott (1961–), American actor
- Dylan Sprouse (1992–), American actor and entrepreneur
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 80.
- T.J. Morgan, Prys Morgan. Welsh Surnames (1985), p. 12.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 90.