Head to head · Boys' names
Dylan vs Roman
#41 vs #42 in 2025
Dylan is a whisker ahead (#41 vs #42 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Dylan is holding its place on the charts, Roman is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Roman 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, Dylan leads 4 measures of 6; Roman leads 2.
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: Dylan —, Roman #605 — Roman higher
- 1890s: Dylan —, Roman #539 — Roman higher
- 1900s: Dylan —, Roman #434 — Roman higher
- 1910s: Dylan —, Roman #361 — Roman higher
- 1920s: Dylan —, Roman #390 — Roman higher
- 1930s: Dylan —, Roman #518 — Roman higher
- 1940s: Dylan —, Roman #605 — Roman higher
- 1950s: Dylan #2502, Roman #569 — Roman higher
- 1960s: Dylan #1121, Roman #581 — Roman higher
- 1970s: Dylan #403, Roman #439 — Dylan higher
- 1980s: Dylan #207, Roman #439 — Dylan higher
- 1990s: Dylan #37, Roman #361 — Dylan higher
- 2000s: Dylan #25, Roman #246 — Dylan higher
- 2010s: Dylan #31, Roman #120 — Dylan higher
- 2020s: Dylan #39, Roman #63 — Dylan higher
Roman stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Dylan has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Dylan | Roman |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #605 |
| 1890s | — | #539 |
| 1900s | — | #434 |
| 1910s | — | #361 |
| 1920s | — | #390 |
| 1930s | — | #518 |
| 1940s | — | #605 |
| 1950s | #2502 | #569 |
| 1960s | #1121 | #581 |
| 1970s | #403 | #439 |
| 1980s | #207 | #439 |
| 1990s | #37 | #361 |
| 2000s | #25 | #246 |
| 2010s | #31 | #120 |
| 2020s | #39 | #63 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Dylan
- England & Wales#64
Roman
- England & Wales#32
- Scotland#33
- Canada#85
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
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.
Roman
Of Rome; a Roman
From Latin Romanus, the adjective formed on Roma. The city's own name is the older puzzle — that one has never been settled.
Roma → Romanus → Roman
How it traveled
Romanus began as a description rather than a name: it marked a person as belonging to Rome, and later to the Roman world in its widest sense. Early Christians used it as a personal name, and it passed through Byzantium into the Slavic languages, where it became one of the standard men's names of Poland, Bohemia, Ukraine and Russia.
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
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.
Roman
ROH-mun
Stress on the first syllable in English. Polish and Russian speakers put the weight on the second — roh-MAHN — so the same child may be called two slightly different things by two sides of a family.
- Roma — The standard informal short form in Russian and Ukrainian; in English it reads more often as a girl's name or the Italian city.
- Ro — The usual quick English clip, used at home rather than on paper.
- Rome — An English-speaker's shortening; also used on its own as a given name.
- Romka — Affectionate Russian diminutive, family use only.
- Also Romy.
Who has carried each name
Dylan
Dylan Thomas (b. 1914) — "Do not go gentle" poet — Bob Dylan took his name
Dylan O'Brien (b. 1991) — The Maze Runner star
Roman
No documented entry for Roman yet.
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 Dylan if you want…
- a name holding steadyDylan is holding its place on the charts
Choose Roman if you want…
- a name on the way upup 35 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooRoman is on the national lists of England & Wales, Scotland and Canada
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
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.
Roman
Strengths
- A spelling every English reader already knows from the word itself — almost never misspelled, almost never misread.
- Works in Polish, Russian, German, Spanish and Italian with little or no change, and currently charts in England, Scotland and Canada too.
- Documented continuously from Latin antiquity onward, so it has never needed a revival to stay in use.
To consider
- It is also an everyday adjective: Roman numerals, Roman Catholic, the Roman Empire. The name never sits in neutral space, though most people barely notice.
- It is climbing quickly, so a child born now will likely meet more Romans as a teenager than the name suggests today.
- The two stress patterns — ROH-mun and roh-MAHN — can both be correct in one family, which usually means deciding early which one you answer to.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to 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.
Roman
56%chance Roman feels dated by 2040
Roman is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
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 Dylan and Roman 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 Dylan and Roman?
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
- America's top 100 names right now
- Two-syllable names, the American default
- Five-letter names, the comfortable middle
- all guides
Every list here names both Dylan and Roman — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Dylan or Roman — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Dylan or Roman?
- Dylan, in 2025: Dylan ranked #41 with 6,208 babies; Roman ranked #42 with 6,162 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Dylan or Roman?
- Roman. Over the last five years Dylan moved up 1 place; Roman moved up 35 places.
- Which is the older name, Dylan or Roman?
- Dylan entered the US charts in 1953; Roman entered the US charts in 1882. On the American record, Roman is the older name.
- How many people are named Dylan and Roman?
- About 411,000 people named Dylan are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 96,500 people named Roman are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Dylans or Romans in the classroom?
- Dylan will almost certainly be the only one in school. Roman 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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