Dalyn
Of Celtic origin, meaning "from the meadow" or "valley".
Name Census estimates that about 1,261 living Americans carry the first name Dalyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 69.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Dalyn today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dalyn births was 2000 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dalyn. 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
- • Dalyn was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 271,812 Americans
Peak year
2000
58 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,436
Tracked since 1955
Gender
Gender distribution for Dalyn
Dalyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,293 total registrations, 904 (69.9%) were male and 389 (30.1%) were female.
Dalyn as a male name
- Ranked #8,436 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2002 (45 births)
Dalyn as a female name
- Ranked #13,830 in 2020
- 6 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2000 (17 births)
Popularity
Dalyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dalyn 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 495 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
Dalyn 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 Dalyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dalyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Utah, Georgia recorded the most babies named Dalyn, while Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dalyn
The name Dalyn is a modern invention, likely created in the 20th century as a combination of the Welsh name Dylan and the English name Alyn. It does not have a clear historical origin or etymology.
Dylan is a Welsh name derived from the elements "dy" meaning "great" and "llan" meaning "sea, ocean, or lake". It has been used as a given name in Wales for centuries, with early records showing its use as far back as the 16th century. One notable bearer of the name was Dylan Thomas, the renowned Welsh poet who lived from 1914 to 1953.
Alyn, on the other hand, is an English name that may have originated as a variant of the name Alan or Alun, which has roots in the Breton and Welsh languages. It could also be derived from the Welsh word "alun" meaning "handsome" or the Old English word "aeluiyn" meaning "precious".
While Dalyn itself does not have a documented history, there have been a few notable individuals who have carried this name in modern times. One example is Dalyn Willliams, an American mixed martial artist and former UFC fighter, born in 1985.
Another bearer of the name is Dalyn Dalcort, a Canadian actress known for her roles in television series like "Heartland" and "Arctic Air". She was born in 1992.
Beyond these contemporary examples, it is difficult to find any historical figures or records that specifically mention the name Dalyn. This suggests that it is a relatively recent coinage, likely created as a combination of existing names for aesthetic or symbolic purposes.
In the absence of a deeper historical background, the name Dalyn remains a modern invention, perhaps reflecting a desire for uniqueness or a connection to the Welsh and English roots of its constituent parts. However, it has yet to establish a significant presence in historical records or literature.
People
Dalyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dalyn 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
Dalyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dalyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dalyn 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 271,812 US residents.
Is Dalyn a common name?
We classify Dalyn as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,293 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dalyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Dalyn was 2000, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dalyn is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dalyn a male name?
Yes, 69.9% of people registered as Dalyn 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.