Tristan
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Meaning
Tristan probably developed from Drustan, a name used by the Picts in what is now Scotland. The older name’s meaning is uncertain. The French form was probably influenced by triste, "sad".
The story
Tristan probably comes from Drustan, an affectionate form of Drust used by the Picts, people who lived north of the Forth and Clyde in what is now Scotland. The oldest meaning remains uncertain. The name appears in French tales from the twelfth century, possibly reaching them through Welsh Trystan or Drystan. Its French spelling was probably influenced by triste, the word for "sad."
The love story gives that sadness a personal explanation. In Joseph Bédier’s retelling of Tristan and Iseult, Tristan’s grieving mother names him a child of sadness, kisses him and dies. Her words explain the name within the tale; they are not proof of its original meaning.
Later in that retelling, Tristan takes Iseult by sea to Cornwall, where she is to marry his uncle, King Mark. Iseult’s mother has prepared a love potion for the bride and king. A serving girl mistakes it for wine, and Tristan and Iseult drink it instead. The potion binds them in love while the marriage promised to Mark still stands. That mistaken drink sets the lovers’ feelings against Tristan’s duty to his uncle.
How popular is Tristan around the world?
In the United States, 9,496 babies were named Tristan between 2020 and 2025. In Canada, 242 boys named Tristan were born in 2024, the 133rd most common name among boys that year.
Tristan is on the official records of the United States, Canada, Scotland, South Australia, Austria, Norway, England and Wales, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Mexico City, Chile, Spain, Argentina, Poland and Brazil.
United States
1 in 2,300
In the United States, 9,496 babies were named Tristan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Tristan peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Tristan went to 4,007 US babies in 2015 and 1,125 in 2025, 28% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 1,500
In Canada, 242 boys named Tristan were born in 2024, the 133rd 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)
Scotland
1 in 2,300
In Scotland, 20 boys named Tristan were registered in 2024, the 209th 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 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Tristan 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
Austria
1 in 2,900
In Austria, 26 boys named Tristan were born in 2025, the 226th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
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)
Norway
1 in 3,100register 2026
In Norway, 9 boys were given the name Tristan in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
England and Wales
1 in 3,500
In England and Wales, 166 boys named Tristan were born in 2025, the 273rd 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
Ireland
1 in 4,200
In Ireland, 13 boys named Tristan were born in 2025, the 317th 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
France
1 in 5,200
In France, about 125 boys named Tristan were born in 2025, the 393rd 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)
New Zealand
1 in 5,800
In New Zealand, 10 boys named Tristan 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
Mexico City City
1 in 6,900
In Mexico City, there were 17 registrations of Tristan 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, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 9,900
In Chile, 18 boys were registered as Tristan in 2021, every accent spelling counted together, most often written Tristán.
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
Spain
1 in 18,000
In Spain, 2,490 residents are named Tristan, the 703rd most common name among men, with a mean age of 13.3 years.
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
Argentina
1 in 83,000
In Argentina, 8 newborns were given the name Tristan 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
Poland
1 in 120,000
In Poland, 2 boys named Tristan were born in 2025, the 705th 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
At the 2022 census, 79 people in Brazil were named Tristan, ranked 48,671st, with a median age of 16.
Among people named Tristan 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
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
Montevideo City
last on record 2009
Tristan is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Tristan 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
Puerto Rico
last on record 2016
Tristan is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 29 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
When you meet Tristan
Most people given the name Tristan 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Tristan · Names that go with Tristan · Middle names for Tristan · Romantic names · Climbers and fallers
The Tristan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Tristan 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 Tristan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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