Head to head · Boys' names
David vs Dylan
#35 vs #41 in 2025
David is a whisker ahead (#35 vs #41 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: David is stepping back from its peak, Dylan is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Dylan 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
On the charts, David leads 5 measures of 6; Dylan leads 1.
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: David #21, Dylan — — David higher
- 1890s: David #28, Dylan — — David higher
- 1900s: David #31, Dylan — — David higher
- 1910s: David #29, Dylan — — David higher
- 1920s: David #22, Dylan — — David higher
- 1930s: David #11, Dylan — — David higher
- 1940s: David #6, Dylan — — David higher
- 1950s: David #4, Dylan #2502 — David higher
- 1960s: David #2, Dylan #1121 — David higher
- 1970s: David #4, Dylan #403 — David higher
- 1980s: David #5, Dylan #207 — David higher
- 1990s: David #12, Dylan #37 — David higher
- 2000s: David #13, Dylan #25 — David higher
- 2010s: David #20, Dylan #31 — David higher
- 2020s: David #30, Dylan #39 — David higher
David stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | David | Dylan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #21 | — |
| 1890s | #28 | — |
| 1900s | #31 | — |
| 1910s | #29 | — |
| 1920s | #22 | — |
| 1930s | #11 | — |
| 1940s | #6 | — |
| 1950s | #4 | #2502 |
| 1960s | #2 | #1121 |
| 1970s | #4 | #403 |
| 1980s | #5 | #207 |
| 1990s | #12 | #37 |
| 2000s | #13 | #25 |
| 2010s | #20 | #31 |
| 2020s | #30 | #39 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
David
- Canada#46
- England & Wales#64
- Scotland#92
Dylan
- England & Wales#64
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
David
beloved
The traditional reading takes it from Hebrew dod, beloved or uncle. A second account connects it with an Akkadian and Mari word for a commander or chieftain, which would make it a title rather than a name. Beloved is the older and commoner reading; neither has been settled.
Dawid → David
How it traveled
The Tel Dan stele matters because it is hostile: it is an enemy's victory inscription, written within about a century and a half of the events, and it refers to the ruling house of Judah by its founder's name as a matter of routine. That is a very different kind of evidence from a text written by people with an interest in the story.
Dylan
sea, ocean
The Welsh word dylan means sea or tide, and the medieval tale itself connects the name to the water. Some scholars read the older form as something nearer 'great flow' or 'great tide' — the same image, differently angled.
Dylan ail Don (Mabinogi) → Dylan (Welsh) → Dylan (English)
How it traveled
Dylan first appears as Dylan ail Don in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the collection of Welsh tales written down in the Middle Ages; in the story the newborn makes straight for the sea and swims as naturally as a fish. For centuries the name stayed inside that literature rather than in ordinary use.
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
David
DAY-vid
Two syllables, stress on the first. Spanish and French put it at the end, da-VEED, with no audible d in the French. Hebrew says da-VEED as well. The English front-loading is the outlier.
- Dave — The default in English; plain, adult and used at work.
- Davy — The warmer form; often kept from childhood into adulthood.
- Dai — The Welsh clip, said DYE; ordinary in Wales and rare elsewhere.
- Dov — Used in Jewish families, where it is also a separate Hebrew name meaning bear.
Dylan
DIL-an
That is the standard English pronunciation everywhere the name is common. In Welsh it is closer to DUH-lan, with the y sounding like the u in 'but' — worth knowing if the family has Welsh ties, though almost no one outside Wales will say it that way.
- Dyl — The usual informal clip among friends and family; rarely written down anywhere official.
- Dill — Same sound, spelled to match the herb; used casually rather than formally.
- D — An initial used as a nickname, common in sports teams and among classmates.
- Dylly — A family-and-toddler form that most bearers drop by school age.
Who has carried each name
David
David Bowie (b. 1947) — Rock's endlessly reinvented starman
David Attenborough (b. 1926) — The voice of the natural world
David Beckham (b. 1975) — Soccer superstar who bent it like no one else
Dylan
Dylan Thomas (b. 1914) — "Do not go gentle" poet — Bob Dylan took his name
Dylan O'Brien (b. 1991) — The Maze Runner star
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose David if you want…
- a name that charts abroad tooDavid is on the national lists of Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
- a long American recordDavid was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Dylan
Choose Dylan if you want…
- a newer arrivalDylan entered the US charts in 1953
- a name that feels very nowDylan is holding its place on the charts
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
David
Strengths
- A three-thousand-year record with independent archaeological confirmation of the dynasty.
- The same spelling in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Russian and Hebrew.
- Four short forms in different languages, all in genuine current use.
To consider
- It has been among the most given names in the English-speaking world for a century, so it carries no signal at all.
- Dave is what most people will settle on, so it is worth liking the short form too.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
Dylan
Strengths
- One dominant spelling in English, recognized on sight and almost never needing to be spelled out loud.
- Two short syllables that survive intact in most languages — no sound in it is hard for a non-English speaker.
- A documented literary root going back to a medieval Welsh manuscript, which is more history than most modern two-syllable names carry.
To consider
- Dillon is a real alternative spelling and also an Irish surname, so some people will write it that way by default. A quick correction, but a lifelong one.
- On the girls' side this spelling is very rare — nearly every Dylan on record is a boy. A girl named Dylan will meet forms, teachers and strangers assuming otherwise, which some families welcome and some would rather avoid.
- For older generations the name still points straight at the Welsh poet and the American songwriter. That association has faded for younger ears, but it hasn't disappeared.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
David
12%chance David feels dated by 2040
David has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Dylan
40%chance Dylan feels dated by 2040
Dylan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 David and Dylan 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 David and Dylan?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both David and Dylan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
David or Dylan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, David or Dylan?
- David, in 2025: David ranked #35 with 6,794 babies; Dylan ranked #41 with 6,208 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, David or Dylan?
- Dylan. Over the last five years David moved down 7 places; Dylan moved up 1 place.
- Which is the older name, David or Dylan?
- David was already in use when US records began in 1880; Dylan entered the US charts in 1953. On the American record, David is the older name.
- How many people are named David and Dylan?
- About 2,764,000 people named David are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 411,000 people named Dylan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Davids or Dylans in the classroom?
- David will almost certainly be the only one in school. Dylan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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