NameCensus.
Very Rare

Dailan

A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "slender and well-shaped".

Name Census estimates that about 148 living Americans carry the first name Dailan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dailan today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dailan births was 2001 (13 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Dailan. 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.

People living today

148

~ 1 in 2,315,908 Americans

Peak year

2001

13 babies that year

Average age

16

years old

2024 SSA rank

#9,143

Tracked since 1997

Popularity

Dailan: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Dailan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 80 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Dailan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.

Babies born per year

037101320002005201020152020

Decades

Dailan 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 Dailan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1990s505
2000s80080
2010s37037
2020s28028

Origin

Meaning and history of Dailan

The name Dailan is believed to have originated from the Old Irish language, derived from the Gaelic words "dail" meaning "assembly" and "an" meaning "one." This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who was a leader or an influential figure in an assembly or council.

In the early medieval period, the name was primarily found in Ireland and parts of Scotland with strong Gaelic influences. Some historical records indicate that the name was used by members of prominent Irish clans and families, although specific individuals bearing this name are not well documented from this era.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dailan was a 12th-century Irish monk and scribe who lived in the monastery of Iona, an important center of religious learning and manuscript production in Scotland. His name is mentioned in a few surviving manuscripts from that time, but little is known about his life or accomplishments.

In the 16th century, a notable figure named Dailan O'Donnell was a chieftain of the O'Donnell clan in County Donegal, Ireland. He played a significant role in the ongoing conflicts between the Irish clans and the English forces during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Another individual named Dailan MacLean was a Scottish soldier and poet who lived in the 17th century. He served in the Scottish army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and is known for his collection of Gaelic poetry, which provides insights into the cultural and historical context of that era.

In the 19th century, a man named Dailan O'Brien was a prominent Irish nationalist and journalist who advocated for Irish independence from British rule. He was actively involved in the Young Ireland movement and was imprisoned for his political activities.

Dailan has remained a relatively uncommon name throughout history, but it has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, reflecting its ancient Irish and Gaelic roots.

People

Dailan + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Dailan 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

Dailan: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Dailan?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 148 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dailan 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 2,315,908 US residents.

Is Dailan a common name?

We classify Dailan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 150 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Dailan most popular?

The single biggest year for Dailan was 2001, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dailan is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Dailan a male name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dailan 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.

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.

N
Name Census
namecensus.com

There are 148 people

with the first name

Dailan

Look up any American name

Share this result