Delphin
A masculine name with Greek origins meaning "dolphin".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Delphin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Delphin today is around 97 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Delphin births was 1907 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Delphin. 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
- • The typical person named Delphin is about 97 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Delphins were born before 1939.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Delphin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1907
13 babies that year
Average age
97
years old
1935 SSA rank
#3,024
Tracked since 1907
Popularity
Delphin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Delphin from the 1900s through to the 1930s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 62 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Delphin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Delphin 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 Delphin 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 Delphin
The name Delphin has its origins in the Greek language and culture. It is derived from the Greek word "delphis" meaning dolphin, the marine mammal. The name likely emerged in ancient Greece during the classical period when dolphins were revered as sacred creatures.
In Greek mythology, dolphins were associated with the sea god Poseidon and were believed to be friendly guides for sailors and shipwrecked individuals. The use of the name Delphin may have been inspired by this symbolism, representing qualities such as intelligence, protection, and guidance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Delphin can be found in ancient Roman texts. A Roman grammarian and scholar named Delphin lived in the 2nd century AD and wrote commentaries on various classical works, including those of Horace and Terence.
During the Middle Ages, the name Delphin was occasionally used in monastic circles, possibly as a reference to the dolphin's association with spirituality and protection. One notable bearer of the name was Delphin of Bordeaux, a 7th-century bishop and saint in the Catholic Church.
In the Renaissance period, the name Delphin gained popularity among humanist scholars and intellectuals who studied classical Greek and Roman texts. A notable figure was Aelius Donatus, a Roman grammarian and teacher in the 4th century AD who was known as "the Dolphin" due to his exceptional knowledge and teaching abilities.
Another prominent individual with the name Delphin was Delphin Strungk, a German composer and organist who lived from 1601 to 1694. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of Protestant church music during the Baroque period.
In the 19th century, the French novelist and playwright Alphonse Daudet used the name Delphin for one of the characters in his work "The Nabob," published in 1877. This literary reference may have helped to revive interest in the name during that era.
While the name Delphin is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be used occasionally, particularly in regions with historical ties to Greek and Roman culture or in literary and scholarly circles as a nod to its classical roots.
People
Delphin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Delphin 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
Delphin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Delphin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Delphin 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Delphin a common name?
We classify Delphin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 116 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Delphin most popular?
The single biggest year for Delphin was 1907, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Delphin is about 97 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Delphin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Delphin 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.