Delon
French masculine name derived from a Celtic word meaning "great, illustrious".
Name Census estimates that about 1,290 living Americans carry the first name Delon. It is a predominantly male name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Delon today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delon births was 1993 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delon. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 265,701 Americans
Peak year
1993
40 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,332
Tracked since 1932
Gender
Gender distribution for Delon
Delon leans heavily male at 97.3% of total registrations, but 38 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Delon as a male name
- Ranked #7,332 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (40 births)
Delon as a female name
- Ranked #15,020 in 1999
- 5 female births in 1999
- Peak: 1972 (9 births)
Popularity
Delon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delon from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 312 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delon 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 Delon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Delons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Michigan, California, New York recorded the most babies named Delon, while Illinois, Ohio, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Delon
The given name Delon is a French name with uncertain origins, but it is believed to be derived from the Old French word "delé," meaning "beside" or "near." This name may have originated in the Middle Ages, possibly as a nickname or a locational surname referring to someone who lived near a particular landmark or location.
One theory suggests that the name Delon could be linked to the French town of Delon, which is located in the department of Gard in southern France. However, there is limited information available about the specific origins of this town name and its potential connection to the given name Delon.
Historically, the name Delon appears to have been relatively uncommon, with only a few notable individuals bearing this name throughout the centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delon dates back to the 16th century, with a French nobleman named Delon de Courcelles (born around 1520), who served as a military commander during the French Wars of Religion.
In the 17th century, there was a French painter named Gaspard Delon (1635-1700), who was known for his works depicting religious subjects and portraits. Another notable figure with the name Delon was François Delon (1704-1782), a French architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Paris and other parts of France.
In more recent history, the most famous individual with the name Delon is undoubtedly the French actor Alain Delon (born 1935). He rose to international fame in the 1960s and 1970s for his roles in films such as "Rocco and His Brothers," "The Samurai," and "The Leopard." Delon's rugged good looks and iconic performances made him a cultural icon and one of the most recognizable French actors of his time.
Another notable figure with the name Delon was the French writer and journalist Michel Delon (1924-2013), who was known for his works on French literature and his contributions to literary criticism. He served as the director of the prestigious French publishing house Éditions de la Pléiade and was a member of the Académie française.
While the name Delon may have had a relatively obscure history, it has been brought to prominence in modern times by the success and fame of individuals like Alain Delon, who have helped to make this name more widely recognized and associated with French culture and artistic accomplishments.
People
Delon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delon 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
Delon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,290 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delon 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 265,701 US residents.
Is Delon a common name?
We classify Delon as "Rare". It ranks above 91.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delon most popular?
The single biggest year for Delon was 1993, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delon is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Delon a male name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Delon 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.