Head to head · Boys' names
Dalton vs Prince
#448 vs #447 in 2025
Prince is a whisker ahead (#447 vs #448 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Prince is stepping back from its peak, Dalton is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Dalton has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Dalton and Prince each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Dalton #823, Prince #422 — Prince higher
- 1890s: Dalton #834, Prince #465 — Prince higher
- 1900s: Dalton #741, Prince #461 — Prince higher
- 1910s: Dalton #580, Prince #605 — Dalton higher
- 1920s: Dalton #504, Prince #748 — Dalton higher
- 1930s: Dalton #480, Prince #828 — Dalton higher
- 1940s: Dalton #565, Prince #859 — Dalton higher
- 1950s: Dalton #721, Prince #900 — Dalton higher
- 1960s: Dalton #834, Prince #1026 — Dalton higher
- 1970s: Dalton #1029, Prince #1104 — Dalton higher
- 1980s: Dalton #789, Prince #738 — Prince higher
- 1990s: Dalton #109, Prince #1007 — Dalton higher
- 2000s: Dalton #167, Prince #832 — Dalton higher
- 2010s: Dalton #331, Prince #400 — Dalton higher
- 2020s: Dalton #482, Prince #368 — Prince higher
Dalton stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Prince took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Dalton | Prince |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #823 | #422 |
| 1890s | #834 | #465 |
| 1900s | #741 | #461 |
| 1910s | #580 | #605 |
| 1920s | #504 | #748 |
| 1930s | #480 | #828 |
| 1940s | #565 | #859 |
| 1950s | #721 | #900 |
| 1960s | #834 | #1026 |
| 1970s | #1029 | #1104 |
| 1980s | #789 | #738 |
| 1990s | #109 | #1007 |
| 2000s | #167 | #832 |
| 2010s | #331 | #400 |
| 2020s | #482 | #368 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Dalton
valley settlement or valley farmstead
From Old English dæl, "valley, dale," and tūn, "enclosure, farmstead, settlement" — the same tūn that ends hundreds of English town and surname forms.
Old English dæl + tūn → Dalton (English place name) → Dalton (surname) → Dalton (given name)
How it traveled
There is no single Dalton in England; there are many, in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Durham, all named the same practical way for a farm or hamlet sitting in a dale. Medieval families who came from such a place were known by it, and Dalton became one of the well-established English surnames, carried to North America with the migrations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Prince
prince, a ruler's son or a ruler
From the English word prince, from Latin princeps, the first one, a title Augustus took for himself as first citizen.
princeps → prince → Prince
How it traveled
Prince was one of the grand names that enslavers often gave to enslaved men, and many who carried it made it their own. Prince Estabrook, still enslaved, stood with the minutemen on Lexington Green and was wounded in the first fight of the Revolution; he later served through the war and gained his freedom.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Dalton
DAWL-tuhn
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the l fully sounded. Some American speakers say DAHL-tuhn; both are accepted and no one will correct you.
- Dalt — The most common clipped form, informal and used mainly by family and friends; not established as a standalone given name.
- Dal — Shorter still, informal, and easy to confuse in speech with Dale, which is a separate name from the same Old English root.
- D — Initial-only nickname, common in American schools and on sports teams.
Prince
PRINS
One syllable.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Dalton if you want…
- a name on the way upup 15 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itDalton runs 2 syllables, Prince 1
- plenty of nickname options3 recorded short forms — Dalt, Dal and D
- a newer arrivalDalton entered the US charts in 1881
Choose Prince if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsPrince is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesPrince is 1 syllable to Dalton's 2
- a name that stays wholeno recorded short form for Prince
- a long American recordPrince was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Dalton
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and read correctly on first sight by nearly everyone in the English-speaking world.
- A documented English place name and surname going back to the medieval period, with an unbroken written record.
- Works on a form, a diploma or a name tag without explanation — it reads as a surname-style name, a style long naturalized in American naming.
To consider
- Daulton and Delton exist as separate spellings, so expect an occasional query about which one you mean — though Dalton is the form people default to.
- Because it rose to prominence with a particular wave of surname names, many Daltons are now young adults rather than children, which gives the name a generational tint for some listeners.
- The Dalton Gang, brothers who robbed banks and trains in the American West in the 1890s, still shows up in Old West histories and place names. It is a footnote rather than a shadow, but you may hear it mentioned.
Prince
Strengths
- It is short, strong and instantly understood.
- It has a long American history.
To consider
- It is a title as well as a name, and some will joke about royalty.
- Many will think first of the musician.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Dalton and Prince in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Dalton and Prince?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names that belong entirely to the 1990s
- Pop star names on birth certificates
- Royal title names: King, Reign, Royal
- Names ending in -ce
- all guides
Where Dalton and Prince each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Dalton or Prince — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Dalton or Prince?
- Prince, in 2025: Prince ranked #447 with 703 babies; Dalton ranked #448 with 699 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Dalton or Prince?
- Dalton. Over the last five years Dalton moved up 15 places; Prince moved down 132 places.
- Which is the older name, Dalton or Prince?
- Dalton entered the US charts in 1881; Prince was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Prince is the older name.
- How many people are named Dalton and Prince?
- About 79,500 people named Dalton are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 20,000 people named Prince are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Daltons or Princes in the classroom?
- Dalton will almost certainly be the only one in school. Prince will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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