Delfin
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "dolphin".
Name Census estimates that about 216 living Americans carry the first name Delfin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Delfin today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delfin births was 1969 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delfin. 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
216
~ 1 in 1,586,826 Americans
Peak year
1969
11 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,143
Tracked since 1919
Census
Delfin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,167 people with the first name Delfin, which placed it at #11,134 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
#11,134
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,167 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
47.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delfin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delfin is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (47.3%) and White (2.7%). 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 Delfin 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 Delfin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander47.4% · 553
- Hispanic or Latino47.3% · 552
- White2.7% · 31
- Two or more races1.7% · 20
- Black or African American0.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Delfin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delfin from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 64 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delfin 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 Delfin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delfins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Delfin
The name Delfin originated from the Latin word "delphinus," meaning "dolphin." It has its roots in the Greek language, where the word "delphis" refers to the marine mammal known for its intelligence and playfulness. The name's etymology suggests a connection to the sea and the natural world.
In ancient times, the name Delfin was likely associated with maritime cultures or coastal regions where dolphins were often seen. It may have been used as a name to symbolize qualities like agility, grace, and freedom, which were attributed to these fascinating creatures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delfin can be found in the works of the ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder, who lived in the 1st century AD. He mentioned a person named Delfinus in his renowned work "Naturalis Historia," which explored various aspects of the natural world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Delfin. One such figure was Delfin of Bordeaux (died 380 AD), a Christian martyr and saint who was venerated in the regions of modern-day France and Spain. His life and martyrdom were recorded in various hagiographies (writings about saints) from the early medieval period.
Another historical figure was Delfin de Sismondi (1766-1819), a Swiss historian and economist who made significant contributions to the study of Italian history and the literature of the Italian Renaissance. His works, such as "Histoire des Républiques Italiennes du Moyen Âge," earned him widespread recognition in the academic world.
In the realm of art, Delfin Hieronimus (1527-1597) was a notable Flemish painter and draftsman. He was renowned for his religious works and portraits, many of which can be found in museums and collections across Europe.
Delfin Pâquis (1831-1901) was a Swiss artist and painter known for his landscapes and depictions of rural life in Switzerland. His works captured the essence of the Swiss countryside and were highly regarded during his lifetime.
Finally, Delfin Lièvre (1920-2012) was a French actor and theater director who had a prolific career spanning several decades. He was celebrated for his performances in both classical and contemporary plays, and his contributions to the French theater community were widely recognized.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Delfin, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
People
Delfin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delfin 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
Delfin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delfin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 216 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delfin 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 1,586,826 US residents.
Is Delfin a common name?
We classify Delfin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 280 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delfin most popular?
The single biggest year for Delfin was 1969, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delfin is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Delfin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,167 people with the name Delfin, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,134 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 Delfin 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 Delfin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Delfin leans strongly male. 1,142 people counted with this name were male (97.9%), compared with 25 female bearers (2.1%). 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 Delfin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Delfin is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (47.3%) and White (2.7%). 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 Delfin most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Delfin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.4% (553 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 Delfin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Delfin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delfin 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 Delfin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Delfin 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 Delfin 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 Delfin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.