Dal
Masculine
Nobody is sure who Dallas is named after. Several candidates have been proposed, the city's own archives do not settle it, and one of the largest cities in America has an unknown namesake.
How old is the name Dal?
Dal first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Dal alive today was born around 1955, making them about 70 years old. About 400 people named Dal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dal most popular?
Dal peaked in 1944, reaching #1738 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 8,957 places below that high. See the whole 1944 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Dal
John Neely Bryan founded the settlement in 1841 and named it a few years later, and when asked afterwards he is reported to have said it was for a friend, without saying which friend. The most commonly repeated candidate is George Mifflin Dallas, who was vice president from 1845 and had a plausible claim on Texan gratitude; others have proposed his brother, a commodore, or a neighbor of Bryan's. The city's own historians have gone over the evidence repeatedly and it does not resolve. That is worth knowing, because place names usually do have documented origins, and a major American city whose namesake is genuinely unknown is a reminder of how quickly ordinary facts stop being written down.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Dal is a short form of Dallas, Dalton or Dale. The Texan city's name was given in 1846 and its honouree is disputed; George Mifflin Dallas, vice president at the time, is the usual candidate, and the founder's own account named a friend. The peak of the clipped form is 1944.
Pronouncing Dal
DAL
One syllable. It is the first syllable of Dallas, Dalton and Dale alike.
Nicknames for Dal
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 195720 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1738reached in 1944
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%6 in 2025, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dall in English — spelling variant
- Dallas in Scots — related form
Dals among us
people named Dal are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Dal
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Langdon test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Dal's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Langdon climbed just as high around 1911, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Langdon's path sketches the road Dal is walking now.
Dal 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Dal beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dal in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and three letters.
- Several fuller names can stand behind it.
- It pairs cleanly with almost any surname.
- It is a clipped form with no fixed long name.
- It is very short, and some settings will expect more.
- The 1944 peak dates it to the war years.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Dal
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Dals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Dal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dal in 2025?
- Dal ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dal?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Dal — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dal with classmates?
- Dal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dal
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dal? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dal and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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