Dylan
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Meaning
"son of the wave" by tradition, the sea-spirit of Welsh myth born gleaming from the tide; the poet Dylan Thomas carried it out of Wales, and America made it a modern standard. Lyrical origins, everyday ease
The story
Dylan entered Welsh legend through the sea. In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the newborn Dylan ail Don makes for the water as soon as he is baptized and swims as naturally as a fish. His name is usually built from Welsh elements meaning toward and tide or flow. Centuries later, poet Dylan Thomas carried it beyond Wales in a voice famous for rhythm, darkness, and delight in language. Robert Zimmerman then chose Bob Dylan as his stage name, creating an extraordinary chain: a mythic child of the waves gave his name to a Welsh poet, whose surname helped name an American songwriter. The chain can be told without pretending the three figures are the same story. Dylan remains Welsh at its root, and its sea image belongs to the old tale, not to every person. What travels forward is a sense of motion, language, and a name continually meeting a wider shore.
How popular is Dylan around the world?
In the United States, 44,013 babies were named Dylan between 2020 and 2025. In Puerto Rico, 112 babies were named Dylan in 2025, and 4,674 have carried the name since 1998.
Dylan is on the official records of the United States, Puerto Rico, Montevideo, Mexico City, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, England and Wales, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, France, Poland and Brazil.
Dylan crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 500
In the United States, 44,013 babies were named Dylan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Dylan peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Dylan went to 11,113 US babies in 2015 and 6,546 in 2025, 59% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Puerto Rico
1 in 160
In Puerto Rico, 112 babies were named Dylan in 2025, and 4,674 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Montevideo City
1 in 2202011
In Montevideo, 113 boys named Dylan were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Mexico City City
1 in 350
In Mexico City, there were 338 registrations of Dylan in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (12 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 380
In Chile, 469 boys were registered as Dylan in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 580
In Argentina, 1,143 newborns were given the name Dylan in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Ireland
1 in 640
In Ireland, 84 boys named Dylan were born in 2025, the 69th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
England and Wales
1 in 800
In England and Wales, 717 boys named Dylan were born in 2025, the 72nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 880
In Scotland, 49 boys named Dylan were registered in 2024, the 104th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
1 in 9702017
In South Australia, 18 boys were registered as Dylan in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 1,200
In Canada, 284 boys named Dylan were born in 2024, the 107th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Spain
#38 · 2024
In Spain, 14,236 residents are named Dylan, the 207th most common name among men, with a mean age of 7.8 years.
In Spain, Dylan was the 38th most common name among boys born in 2024.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
New Zealand
1 in 2,300
In New Zealand, 25 boys named Dylan were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
France
1 in 3,800
In France, about 170 boys named Dylan were born in 2025, the 310th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Poland
1 in 25,000
In Poland, 10 boys named Dylan were born in 2025, the 330th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 71,000
At the 2022 census, 2,877 people in Brazil were named Dylan, ranked 4,007th, with a median age of 5.
Among people named Dylan living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,234 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Austria
last on record 2024
Dylan is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Dylan is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Dylan
Most people given the name Dylan in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Dylan travels
Welsh Patagonian · 'toward the tide' (dy + llanw); the sea spirit of Welsh myth, the one Welsh name the whole world already says, the easiest door into the tradition
Global crossover · son of the sea, great tide; a US top-25 name for years and, boosted by music and film, also popular in France and the UK
Keep exploring
Names like Dylan · Names that go with Dylan · Welsh Patagonian baby names · Global crossover names · Names of music legends · Nickname-proof names · Climbers and fallers
The Dylan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Dylan truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Dylan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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