Tristan
The Pictish Drustanus, reshaped in French romance toward triste, “sad,” to fit the tragedy.
Popularity, 1880–2025
Tristan first shows up in the national records in 1946. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in 13 different years between 1996 and 2014. Its biggest year was 2008, when 5,659 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 81 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1996, at No. 68. In 2025 it ranked No. 309 for boys. The name has also seen real use for girls: 6,551 of the 130,794 Americans given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Tristen (25,554), Tristin (12,612), Triston (11,876), Trystan (5,169), Tristyn (4,465), Trysten (1,695) (total births since 1880)
Explore Tristan interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 19 | No. 2608 |
| 1950s | 89 | No. 2091 |
| 1960s | 272 | No. 1057 |
| 1970s | 1,037 | No. 660 |
| 1980s | 7,582 | No. 222 |
| 1990s | 23,915 | No. 68 |
| 2000s | 43,300 | No. 80 |
| 2010s | 38,693 | No. 84 |
| 2020s | 9,336 | No. 182 |
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.