US Name Trends

Dylan

Welsh, read as “great tide” or “sea,” borne by a figure in the Mabinogi.

2001peak year
No. 19best rank (2003)
434,951babies since 1880
No. 41rank in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Dylan per year — peak 16,497▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Dylan first shows up in the national records in 1953. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1990 to 2025. Its biggest year was 2001, when 16,497 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 21 nationally. Its best ranking came in 2003, at No. 19. In 2025 it ranked No. 41 for boys. All told, 434,951 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Dillon (66,270), Dillan (7,387), Dilan (6,138), Dylon (4,517), Dyllan (3,802), Dylann (1,293) (total births since 1880)

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1950s97No. 1439
1960s684No. 514
1970s4,036No. 305
1980s14,171No. 115
1990s122,074No. 23
2000s140,125No. 19
2010s96,354No. 27
2020s41,138No. 28

Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.

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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.