Dillon
Feminine · “of the sea”
Dillon is given to boys far more often — 65,225 boys against 1,045 girls since 1880. See Dillon as a boy name
Dillon is an Irish surname and also the usual American spelling of the Welsh Dylan, which means something like the sea. The two are unrelated and both feed the modern name.
How old is the name Dillon?
Dillon first appears in US birth records in 1986 — 39 years ago. The typical Dillon is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,000 people named Dillon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dillon most popular?
Dillon peaked in 2020, reaching #2712 nationally. Today it ranks #3645, 933 places below that high. See the whole 2020 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Dylan to Dillon
The story of Dillon
Dylan appears in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi as a child who swims the moment he is born, and Welsh has used the name since the revival of native naming. Quite separately, the Dillons were a Norman-Irish family in Westmeath and their surname reached America with Irish emigration. American spelling gave Dillon to both, and it is now used for girls as well as boys.
Meaningscholars disagree
of the sea, or descendant of Duilleán
Welsh Dylan is generally read as sea or great tide, from a figure in the Mabinogi who took to the water as soon as he was baptized. The Irish surname Ó Duilleáin is separate, from a personal name of disputed derivation. English spelling has run the two together.
How the name formed
- Dylan
- Dillon
Related forms: Dylan · Ó Duilleáin
Pronouncing Dillon
DIL-uhn
Two syllables, first stressed. Welsh Dylan is properly DUH-lan, with a different first vowel.
Nicknames for Dillon
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
- 1986
- Most girls named
- 202061 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2712reached in 2020
- Change vs 2024
- −16.3%41 in 2025, from 49
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.
Dillon in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dylan in Welsh — related form
- Ó Duilleáin in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Dillons among us
people named Dillon are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 39,202 born in 2025 was named Dillon
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 Betsabe test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Dillon's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Betsabe climbed just as high around 2004, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Betsabe's path sketches the road Dillon is walking now.
Dillon 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
Where Dillon is headed
Dillon should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Dillon beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dillon in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two documented ancestries, Welsh and Irish, both real.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Six letters and two syllables, quick to write.
- It is read as a boy's name by default, and she will correct that often.
- Dylan is the Welsh spelling and is far more common.
- The Welsh pronunciation differs from the English one, which Welsh speakers will note.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Dillon to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Dillon? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Dillon
Feminine · #3645 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Dillons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Dillon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dillon in 2025?
- Dillon ranks #3645 among US girl names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dillon?
- About 1 in every 39,202 US girls born in 2025 was named Dillon — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dillon with classmates?
- Dillon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dillon
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elenor#3645 · Azucena#3645 · Alaura#3645 · Judah#3645 · Rylen#3645 · Zamiyah#3645 · Naiara#3645 · Marietta#3645
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dillon? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dillon and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle