Delcan
Short form of Delfin, a Spanish name meaning dolphin.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Delcan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Delcan today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delcan births was 2022 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delcan. 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 Delcan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2022
7 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,054
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Delcan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delcan from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 7 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delcan 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 Delcan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delcan
The name Delcan has its origins in the ancient Celtic languages spoken in the British Isles and parts of continental Europe. It is derived from the Proto-Celtic root *delko-, meaning "strike" or "wound". In its original form, the name would have been pronounced something like "del-kan".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. In an entry from the year 735 AD, a man named Delcan mac Morgaind is mentioned as the abbot of the monastery at Inishcaltra (Holy Island) in Lough Derg, County Galway.
Several centuries later, in the High Middle Ages, there was a notable Irish cleric named Delcan of Ardmore who lived from around 1098 to 1180. He founded the monastery of Ardmore in County Waterford and was later venerated as a saint within the Catholic Church.
Moving into the early modern period, we find a 16th century Irish poet and historian named Delcan O'Duibhgeannain, sometimes anglicized as Delcan O'Dignan. He composed works in both Irish and Latin, serving as the official poet and chronicler to the O'Conor family, lords of Sligo.
In Scotland during the 17th century, there was a Delcan Robertson who played a role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms between the Scottish Covenanters and Royalists. He fought alongside the Marquis of Argyll at the Battle of Inverlochy in 1645.
Finally, we can point to Delcan MacPhilip, an 18th century Irish harpist and composer from County Limerick. He was a prominent figure in preserving and continuing the ancient tradition of Gaelic harp music during a period when it was in decline.
People
Delcan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delcan 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
Delcan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delcan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delcan 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Delcan a common name?
We classify Delcan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delcan most popular?
The single biggest year for Delcan was 2022, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delcan is about 9 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 Delcan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delcan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delcan 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 Delcan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delcan 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 Delcan 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 the name Delcan?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Delcan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.