ninan.org

Dylan

Boys' name · Millennial-era

Living in the US
~427,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#41 among boys
Births in 2025
6,546 434,951 since 1880
Typical age
21 years, median

Dylan popularity over time

Dylan rank by birth year, 1953–2025Dylan ranked #3,798 in 1953 and #41 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #19, in 2003.#100#1,000#41best #19 in 20031960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1953–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Dylan was used most in 2001, when 16,696 babies were given the name. 1953 is the earliest year with at least five recorded births. It has held a top-100 place in 36 separate years.

The 2025 position is #41, on 6,546 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 41%.

Babies named Dylan per yearPeaks at 16,696 births in 2001.16,696 in 200101960198020002020
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Dylan?

About 427,100 people named Dylan are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 434,951 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Dylan?

Half of living Dylans are older than 21, half younger. The 2000s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Dylan a millennial-era name.

Your Dylan

Ages of living people named DylanHalf of living Dylans are older than 21 and half younger.median 210204060
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Dylan is most common

Dylan is 2.3× as common in District of Columbia as it is nationally. Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island follow.

Where Dylan is used more than average5 states use the name Dylan more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 2.0× the national rateNJConnecticut: 1.7× the national rateCTRhode Island: 1.8× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: 2.0× the national rateMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 2.3× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Dylan is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
District of Columbia 352 2.3×
Maryland 2,274 2.0×
New Jersey 3,654 2.0×
Rhode Island 261 1.8×
Connecticut 1,057 1.7×

Dylan in England and Wales

ONS recorded 731 births named Dylan in 2025, ranking it #72. That is 38% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Dylan comes from

From Welsh mythology; possibly from Celtic for "son of the sea" or "born from the ocean." Unrelated to the name Dillon, although the homophony may result in the two being considered variant spellings of the same name.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Dylan

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Dylan Thomas Welsh poet and writer 1914–1953 75
Dylan O'Brien American actor 1991 55
Dylan Minnette American actor and musician 1996 55
Dylan McDermott American actor 1961 40
Dylan Sprouse American actor 1992 38
Dylan Walsh American actor 1963 35
Dylan Baker American actor 1959 33
Dylan Sprayberry American actor 1998 32
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 4,491 in 1990 to 9,879 in 1991 — 2.2 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/dylan.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).