Fun Facts About the Name Dillan
- More than 7 thousand babies named Dillan: U.S. records list 7,387 babies given the name Dillan from 1880 through 2025. Even 393 girls received the name Dillan - about 1 girl for every 18 boys.
What Does the Name Dillan Mean?
Dillan is a spelling variant of the Welsh name Dylan. The Welsh name is most often explained as a compound of dy, "great," and llanw, "tide" or "flow," which gives a literal sense along the lines of "great tide." English speakers commonly give the meaning as "son of the sea" or "born of the ocean"; that is a customary interpretation of the name's sea imagery rather than a word-for-word translation of the Welsh elements.
The derivation is not entirely settled. Some accounts read the second element differently or connect the name to a Welsh word for flood, so the "great tide" explanation is the usual one rather than a certainty. The older and more standard spelling of the name is Dylan; Dillan changes only the spelling, not the pronunciation or the underlying name.
Dillan Name History & Origins
The name belongs to an old figure in Welsh tradition. In the medieval Welsh tales known as the Mabinogion, a character called Dylan ail Don appears as a son of Arianrhod; his epithet is usually rendered "of the wave" or "son of the wave," and the story ties him to the sea, saying he took to the water and swam like a fish. This is the best-known early appearance of the name in Welsh literature.
For centuries the name stayed mostly within Wales. It spread more widely in the English-speaking world during the twentieth century, and two well-known bearers helped make it familiar outside Wales: the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and the American singer Bob Dylan, who adopted the name in the early 1960s.
Dillan itself is a later respelling that matches the way the name is pronounced in English, and it also coincides with a spelling used for the separate surname Dillon. It is best understood as one of several anglicized spellings of Dylan rather than a name with a separate origin story of its own.
How Popular is the Name Dillan?
Dillan recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1992. Its best rank was #553 in 1992.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #10,312 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #9,699 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #8,601 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #9,211 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #8,150 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2020 | #8,529 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2019 | #11,636 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #7,875 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #6,884 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2016 | #11,105 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2015 | #12,140 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #8,599 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2013 | #9,773 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #7,554 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2011 | #6,645 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2010 | #5,664 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2009 | #6,375 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2008 | #5,050 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 2007 | #9,708 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2006 | #11,699 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2005 | #5,144 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2004 | #6,565 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2003 | #4,337 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2002 | #12,571 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #16,020 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #12,895 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #12,529 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #14,061 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #14,045 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #8,930 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,871 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2024 | #2,878 | 44 | 0.0026% |
| 2023 | #2,961 | 42 | 0.0025% |
| 2022 | #2,357 | 60 | 0.0034% |
| 2021 | #2,508 | 53 | 0.0030% |
| 2020 | #2,441 | 53 | 0.0031% |
| 2019 | #2,595 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 2018 | #1,943 | 76 | 0.0042% |
| 2017 | #2,054 | 68 | 0.0037% |
| 2016 | #1,589 | 103 | 0.0054% |
| 2015 | #1,439 | 118 | 0.0062% |
| 2014 | #1,258 | 142 | 0.0074% |
| 2013 | #1,329 | 129 | 0.0068% |
| 2012 | #1,208 | 148 | 0.0078% |
| 2011 | #1,088 | 171 | 0.0090% |
| 2010 | #985 | 200 | 0.0104% |
| 2009 | #793 | 283 | 0.0143% |
| 2008 | #877 | 241 | 0.0118% |
| 2007 | #839 | 254 | 0.0122% |
| 2006 | #773 | 269 | 0.0131% |
| 2005 | #742 | 272 | 0.0136% |
| 2004 | #667 | 306 | 0.0154% |
| 2003 | #668 | 297 | 0.0150% |
| 2002 | #699 | 256 | 0.0132% |
| 2001 | #693 | 260 | 0.0134% |
| 2000 | #673 | 265 | 0.0135% |
| 1999 | #608 | 300 | 0.0156% |
| 1998 | #597 | 312 | 0.0163% |
| 1997 | #612 | 287 | 0.0152% |
| 1996 | #688 | 236 | 0.0125% |
| 1995 | #626 | 270 | 0.0142% |
| 1994 | #600 | 300 | 0.0155% |
| 1993 | #604 | 295 | 0.0150% |
| 1992 | #553 | 341 | 0.0171% |
| 1991 | #681 | 222 | 0.0110% |
| 1990 | #1,227 | 80 | 0.0039% |
| 1989 | #1,622 | 49 | 0.0024% |
| 1988 | #2,100 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1987 | #2,751 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1986 | #2,708 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1985 | #5,990 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #4,293 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1983 | #5,667 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #4,019 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #6,505 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #6,304 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1975 | #5,684 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Dillan Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Dillan's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Dillan's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.