Dallen
An Old English masculine name meaning "from the valley".
Name Census estimates that about 1,172 living Americans carry the first name Dallen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dallen today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dallen births was 2008 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dallen. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 292,453 Americans
Peak year
2008
53 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,083
Tracked since 1959
Census
Dallen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,057 people with the first name Dallen, which placed it at #11,947 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
#11,947
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,057 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dallen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dallen is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Dallen 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 Dallen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.6% · 841
- Black or African American7.7% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 51
- Two or more races4.8% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 12
Popularity
Dallen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dallen from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 421 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
Dallen 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 Dallen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dallens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Utah, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Dallen, while California, Texas, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 90 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dallen
The name Dallen is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 5th century CE. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "dæl" meaning "valley" and "lēan" meaning "meadow" or "pasture." The combination of these two words suggests a meaning akin to "valley meadow" or "pasture in the valley."
In its earliest recorded forms, the name was spelled variations such as "Dællen," "Dællan," and "Dællen." These spellings can be found in ancient Anglo-Saxon records and manuscripts from the 7th to 9th centuries, indicating the name's use during that period in what is now England.
There are no clear historical references to the name Dallen in major religious texts or ancient scriptures. However, some records suggest the name may have been used by early Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain, particularly those who settled in areas with valleys and meadows.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dallen was Dallen of Mercia, a minor nobleman who lived in the 8th century CE. Another early bearer of the name was Dallen the Scribe, a monk who lived in the 9th century and was known for his calligraphy work in copying religious texts.
In the 12th century, a minor historical figure named Dallen the Forester is recorded as having lived in Nottinghamshire, England. He was a forest ranger responsible for managing and protecting the local woodlands.
During the 14th century, a merchant named Dallen Wyndham is mentioned in records from the city of Bristol, England. He was involved in the wool trade and is noted for his business dealings with continental Europe.
In the 16th century, a Scottish soldier named Dallen MacLeod fought in several battles during the Anglo-Scottish Wars. He is recorded as having participated in the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513.
While the name Dallen has been relatively uncommon throughout history, these examples demonstrate its use over several centuries, primarily in England and Scotland, with roots tracing back to the Old English language and the early medieval period.
People
Dallen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dallen 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
Dallen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dallen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,172 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dallen 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 292,453 US residents.
Is Dallen a common name?
We classify Dallen as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,197 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dallen most popular?
The single biggest year for Dallen was 2008, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dallen is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dallen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,057 people with the name Dallen, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,947 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 Dallen 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 Dallen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dallen leans strongly male. 1,030 people counted with this name were male (97.1%), compared with 31 female bearers (2.9%). 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 Dallen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dallen is White at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Dallen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dallen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (841 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 Dallen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dallen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dallen 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 Dallen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dallen 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 Dallen 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 are named Dallen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.