Dahlin
A Swedish feminine diminutive of "dahl", meaning "valley girl".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Dahlin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dahlin today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dahlin births was 1994 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dahlin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dahlin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1994
5 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
1994 SSA rank
#9,069
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Dahlin: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dahlin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dahlin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dahlin
The given name Dahlin is believed to have originated from the Swedish language, where it is a diminutive form of the name Dahl, meaning "valley" or "dale." This name has its roots in the Old Norse word "dalr," which referred to a long, narrow valley or glen. The -in suffix was commonly used in Swedish names to create diminutive forms, expressing endearment or familiarity.
Dahlin gained popularity in Sweden during the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly among rural communities where people lived in close proximity to valleys and dales. The name may have been initially used to describe someone who lived near or in a valley, or it could have been a descriptive name referring to a person's physical characteristics or temperament.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dahlin can be found in the Swedish parish records from the late 17th century. Notable individuals bearing this name throughout history include the Swedish author and playwright Frans Oskar Dahlin (1801-1865), known for his romantic plays and poetry.
Another prominent figure was the Swedish artist Carl Dahlin (1886-1957), who gained recognition for his landscape paintings depicting the rural scenery of Sweden. His works are highly regarded for capturing the essence of Swedish nature and rural life.
In the field of medicine, Rolf Dahlin (1906-1990) was a renowned Swedish neurosurgeon who made significant contributions to the treatment of brain tumors and the development of modern neurosurgical techniques.
The name Dahlin also gained some recognition in the world of sports. Sven Dahlin (1901-1988) was a Swedish ice hockey player who represented Sweden in the 1928 and 1936 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the latter.
Lastly, Inga Dahlin (1925-2018) was a Swedish actress and singer who had a prolific career spanning over six decades in theater, film, and television. She was widely acclaimed for her performances and received numerous awards, including the prestigious Eugene O'Neill Award for her contributions to Swedish theatre.
While the name Dahlin has Swedish roots, it has also been adopted and used in other Scandinavian countries and among Swedish diaspora communities around the world, carrying with it a connection to the rural landscapes and natural beauty of the Nordic regions.
People
Dahlin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dahlin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dahlin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dahlin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dahlin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Dahlin a common name?
We classify Dahlin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dahlin most popular?
The single biggest year for Dahlin was 1994, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dahlin is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dahlin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dahlin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dahlin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dahlin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dahlin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dahlin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Dahlin as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.