Dylan

What Dylan means

Welsh, meaning “to, of + tide”

From dy- (“to, of”) +‎ llanw (“tide”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Dylan” (revision 94586497), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Dylan?

US: Falling: down from #27 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #38 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2001, when 16,497 boys got the name (#21 that year). First in the US records in 1953.

How common

• About 1 in 275 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 379 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 427 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DE (7.47 per 1,000 boys), DC (7.12 per 1,000 boys), FL (6.88 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Dylan is #41 in the US and #72 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 94.8% of US babies named Dylan were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Dilan309 US · 23 E&W
• Tylan187 US · 4 E&W
• Daylen113 US · 3 E&W
• Tylen104 US
• Tylin73 US
• Daylon58 US
• Daylan51 US
• Daylin42 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Dyl

Listed on Wiktionary under “diminutives”.

If you like Dylan

Boys

• Oscar#223Editor’s note Down from #181 in 2015 to #223 in 2025 in the US
• Connor#166“lover of hounds”^*
• Bryce#357Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2000, with 4,319 babies; 919 in 2025
• Ian#83Editor’s note Steady in the US: #76 in 2015 and #83 in 2025. About 1 in 440 US boys in the 2025 records
• Juan#159Spanish, meaning “Yahweh is gracious”^*
• Colin#343Short form of Nicholas, meaning “victory + people”^*

For a sister

• Ashlyn#972“dream, vision”^*
• Kaitlyn#799Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #197 in 2015, #799 in 2025
• Morgan#312Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #121 in 2015, #312 in 2025
• Jenna#679Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 6,436 babies; 418 in 2025
• Briana#661Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1994, with 5,000 babies; 431 in 2025
• Sabrina#321Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1997, with 5,816 babies; 956 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Dylan’s. Rank is US 2025.