Dilon
An Anglicized form of the Irish name Diolún meaning "descendent of the loyal one".
Name Census estimates that about 417 living Americans carry the first name Dilon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dilon today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dilon births was 2003 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dilon. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Dilon with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
417
~ 1 in 821,953 Americans
Peak year
2003
27 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,689
Tracked since 1987
Census
Dilon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 545 people with the first name Dilon, which placed it at #19,414 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
#19,414
National first-name rank
People counted
545
545 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dilon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dilon is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.1%) and Black (13.4%). 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 Dilon 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 Dilon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.8% · 315
- Hispanic or Latino19.1% · 104
- Black or African American13.4% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 27
- Two or more races4.0% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Popularity
Dilon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dilon from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 196 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
Dilon 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 Dilon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dilons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dilon
The name Dilon is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language and can be traced back to the early medieval period in Ireland and Scotland. Its roots lie in the Gaelic word "dubh" meaning "black" or "dark," and the suffix "-lon" derived from the word "lon," meaning "blackbird" or "meadow."
In ancient Celtic folklore, the blackbird was revered as a symbol of good fortune and was often associated with the underworld and the realm of the dead. This connection may have influenced the choice of the name Dilon for children, as it was believed to bestow protection and good luck upon the bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dilon can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history dating back to the 15th century. The name appears in reference to a chieftain named Dilon O'Neill, who ruled over a territory in County Tyrone, Ireland, in the late 12th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dilon. One such figure was Dilon Carragher (1770-1848), an Irish poet and songwriter from County Donegal, who is remembered for his contributions to the preservation of Irish folklore and traditional ballads.
Another prominent Dilon was Dilon MacCormick (1892-1975), a Scottish sculptor and artist celebrated for his works depicting scenes from Celtic mythology and rural life. His sculptures can be found in various public spaces across Scotland and the United Kingdom.
In the realm of literature, Dilon Fitzpatrick (1920-1987) was an Irish-American novelist and short story writer known for his works exploring themes of identity, immigration, and the Irish-American experience. His novel "The Binding of the Winds" received critical acclaim and was nominated for several literary awards.
Moving to more recent times, Dilon Jocko (1945-2012) was a prominent Native American activist and leader of the Lakota tribe. He played a crucial role in the American Indian Movement and was involved in the Wounded Knee Incident of 1973, a historic protest against the mistreatment of Native Americans.
While the name Dilon may not be as widely used today as it once was, its rich history and cultural significance continue to resonate, particularly within communities with Celtic and Irish heritage.
People
Dilon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dilon 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
Dilon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dilon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 417 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dilon 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 821,953 US residents.
Is Dilon a common name?
We classify Dilon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 424 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dilon most popular?
The single biggest year for Dilon was 2003, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dilon is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dilon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 545 people with the name Dilon, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,414 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 Dilon 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 Dilon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dilon leans strongly male. 540 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 8 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Dilon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dilon is White at 57.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.1%) and Black (13.4%). 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 Dilon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dilon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.8% (315 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 Dilon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dilon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dilon 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 Dilon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dilon 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 Dilon 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 common is the name Dilon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.