Dalan
A Turkish masculine name meaning "branch, artery, or by-pass".
Name Census estimates that about 557 living Americans carry the first name Dalan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dalan today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dalan births was 1998 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dalan. 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
557
~ 1 in 615,358 Americans
Peak year
1998
29 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,147
Tracked since 1962
Census
Dalan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 597 people with the first name Dalan, which placed it at #18,138 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,138
National first-name rank
People counted
597
597 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dalan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dalan is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Black (24.0%) and Hispanic (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dalan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dalan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.3% · 312
- Black or African American24.0% · 143
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 63
- Two or more races5.5% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 14
Popularity
Dalan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dalan from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 205 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dalan 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 Dalan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dalans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dalan
The name Dalan is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indian language that has influenced many other languages in the region. The earliest known use of the name dates back to the 6th century BCE, during the Vedic period of ancient India.
In Sanskrit, the word "dalan" is derived from the root word "dal," which means "to split" or "to divide." This could potentially suggest that the name Dalan may have been associated with someone who had a strong presence or personality that could "divide" or make a significant impact on others.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dalan can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, Dalan was mentioned as the name of a warrior who fought alongside the Pandava princes during the great battle of Kurukshetra.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Dalan. One of the earliest was Dalan the Wise, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century BCE in ancient India. He was known for his teachings on ethics and morality, and his works were widely studied and revered during his time.
In the 7th century CE, there was a prominent Hindu saint and mystic named Dalan Bhakta, who was known for his devotional poetry and spiritual teachings. His works were widely celebrated and are still studied by scholars and devotees today.
During the medieval period, a notable figure named Dalan Singh was a brave warrior and military commander who served under the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. He was renowned for his bravery and strategic skills on the battlefield.
In more recent times, Dalan Mukherjee (1909-1974) was an eminent Indian physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics. He was also a professor at the University of Calcutta and played a crucial role in the development of scientific research in India.
Another notable individual with the name Dalan was Dalan Deobur (1937-2015), a renowned artist and sculptor from Sri Lanka. He was known for his unique style and contributions to the art world, and his works are displayed in galleries and museums around the world.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Dalan throughout history. While the name may have originated from ancient Sanskrit roots, it has been carried on and honored by individuals from various cultures and backgrounds over the centuries.
People
Dalan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dalan 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
Dalan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dalan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 557 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dalan 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 615,358 US residents.
Is Dalan a common name?
We classify Dalan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 570 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dalan most popular?
The single biggest year for Dalan was 1998, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dalan is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dalan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 597 people with the name Dalan, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,138 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dalan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dalan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dalan leans strongly male. 552 people counted with this name were male (93.1%), compared with 41 female bearers (6.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dalan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dalan is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Black (24.0%) and Hispanic (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dalan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dalan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.3% (312 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Dalan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dalan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dalan 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 Dalan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dalan 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 Dalan 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.
How many people share the name Dalan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.