The meaning of the name “Dylan” is different in several languages, countries and cultures and has more than one possibly same or different meanings available.
Additional information: Dylan is a male name of Welsh origin; from the Welsh dy (great) and llanw (tide), it was the name of a figure in Welsh mythology, Dylan ail Don, a god of the sea and the son of Gwyddion and Arianrhod. He was accidentally killed by his uncle, a Smith God called Govannon. Alternative spellings include Dillan, Dylin, and Dillon, and although it doesn’t have any foreign spelling variants, diminutives for Dylan include Dy and Dyl. Other names that have a similar meaning to Dylan include Dorian (From The Sea), Murray (From the Sea Town), and Ronan (Little Seal). As Dylan can be used as a gender neutral name, it doesn’t have any feminine variants; it is, however, more commonly associated with being a masculine name. Dylan is commonly misspelled as ‘Dyaln’, ‘Dlyan’, and ‘Dilan’.
The name Dylan only entered the top thousand names for boys in the USA in 1966, but soon climbed through the rankings, reaching its peak in 2003 to 2004 at 19th. It decreased slightly in popularity in the following years, but not substantially – it was the 29th most popular name for boys in 2014. Dylan is currently in the middle of a similar popularity increase as a feminine name – it went from 882nd in 2002 to 394th in 2014. Part of the reason Dylan is so popular in England and Wales is because of its popularity in Wales – it was the most popular name in 2010 in Wales. Combined with the figures for England, Dylan has been in the top fifty names for boys since 1998, and was 34th in 2014.
Famous people with the name include the late Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, Dylan O’Brien (American actor) and the American musician Bob Dylan, whose real name is Robert Zimmerman, who adopted his stage surname from the poet's name. Due to these people, use of the name has spread outside of Wales in the last half of the 20th century. It received a further boost in popularity in the 1990s because of a character on the television series 'Beverly Hills 90210'. Other popular celebs with the name are songwriter and singer Jakob Dylan, actor Dylan McDermott, pop singer Dylan Holland, movie actor Dylan Sprayberry to name a few.
Urban legends sprung up after Bob Dylan’s motorcycle crash in the sixties; people theorised that, when he came back into the public eye, he wasn’t Bob Dylan at all, but an imposter, and that the real Bob Dylan was either dead or in rehab for drug addiction. Bob Dylan & Neil Diamond encounter at The Last Waltz is an urban legend featuring the trendy name.
This name has many variations and alternate spellings, some of which are Dylane, Dylin, Dylana, Dylann, Dylen, Dylaan, Dylanee, Dylanie, Dyllan, Dylynn, Dillon, Dillan, Dyllon, Dylon, Dillan, Dillan, Dillyn, Dyllan.
The first thing you should know if you are considering Dylan for your baby's name is that in most countries all over the world the name Dylan is a unisex name, used as a boy name and a girl name.
The name Dylan is of Welsh origin, and is used in more than one countries and different languages of the world, especially English speaking countries, Welsh speaking countries among others.
If you consider naming your baby Dylan we recommend you take note of the special meaning and history of the name as your baby’s name will play a big role in its life and your baby will hear it spoken every day. Searching for a name is a very important and fun process as it’s the very first gift you will give to your baby. Many people believe that the name can affect success in life, through their children's working career and other circumstances, so they choose more “respectable” names or name meanings as they believe that the name meaning reflects the personality of the child.
Dylan Name Meaning
The meaning of Dylan has more than one different etymologies. It has same or different meanings in other countries and languages. The different meanings of the name Dylan are:
American meaning: Son of the sea
Celtic - Gaelic meaning: Son of the sea
Welsh meaning: Man from the sea
Keep in mind that many names may have different meanings in other countries and languages, so be careful that the name that you choose doesn’t mean something bad or unpleasant. Search comprehensively and find the name meaning of Dylan and its name origin or of any other name in our database. Also note the spelling and the pronunciation of the name Dylan and check the initials of the name with your last name to discover how it looks and sounds. The history and meaning of the name Dylan is fascinating, learn more about it. (If you know more meanings of the name and you would like to contribute click here to submit another name meaning).
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Name Dylan Categories
The name Dylan is in the following categories: American Names, Australian Names, British Names, Canadian Names, English Names, Welsh Names. (If you would like to suggest one or more categories for the name, click here). We have plenty of different baby name categories to search for special meanings plus popular and unique names, search our database before choosing but also note that baby name categories designed to help you and not to be an influential factor when choosing a name. Instead, we recommend that you pay a greater attention to the origin and meaning of the name Dylan. Read our baby name articles for useful tips regarding baby names and naming your baby. If you are thinking of giving your baby the beautiful name Dylan, spread the love and share this with your friends.
Popularity of the Name Dylan
Below you will find the popularity of the baby name Dylan displayed annually, from 1880 to the present day in our name popularity chart. Hover over or click on the dots that represent a year to see how many babies were given the name for that year, for both genders, if available.
Dylan Boy Name Popularity Chart
Dylan Girl Name Popularity Chart
Note:The data above is from the Social Security Administrator of United States, (more info here) from Social Security card applications for births in US for every name, from 1880 up to the present year. The gender associated with the name might be incorrect, as the data presents the record applications without being edited for errors. The name's popularity and ranking is announced annually, so the data for this year will not be available until next year. The more babies that are given a name, the higher popularity ranking the name receives. For names with the same popularity, the tie is solved by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. This means that if two or more names have the same popularity their rankings may differ significantly, as they are set in alphabetical order. If a name has less than five occurrences, the SSA excludes it from the provided data to protect privacy.
If you’re not sure yet, see our wide selection of both boy names and girl names all over the world to find the ideal name for your new born baby. We offer a comprehensive and meaningful list of popular names and cool names along with the name's origin, meaning, pronunciation, popularity and additional information.
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One Comment
Saint Jack
December 11, 2021 @
1:57 am
Dylan is pronounced Duh-lan in Welsh and Dil-an in english.
As for gender neutral a girl would never be called Dylan i Wales.
It woud be the same as giving her e.g.Thomas, David or Harold.
Not recommended.
Saint Jack
December 11, 2021 @ 1:57 am
Dylan is pronounced Duh-lan in Welsh and Dil-an in english.
As for gender neutral a girl would never be called Dylan i Wales.
It woud be the same as giving her e.g.Thomas, David or Harold.
Not recommended.