Dylen
Of Welsh origin, meaning fleeting.
Name Census estimates that about 1,040 living Americans carry the first name Dylen. It is a predominantly male name (97.9% of registrations). The average person named Dylen today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dylen births was 2004 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dylen. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 329,571 Americans
Peak year
2004
63 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,473
Tracked since 1991
Gender
Gender distribution for Dylen
Dylen leans heavily male at 97.9% of total registrations, but 22 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dylen as a male name
- Ranked #8,473 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (58 births)
Dylen as a female name
- Ranked #15,009 in 2015
- 6 female births in 2015
- Peak: 2008 (6 births)
Popularity
Dylen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dylen from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 457 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
Dylen 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 Dylen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dylens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Dylen, while Washington, Michigan, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dylen
The given name Dylen is believed to have originated from the Welsh language, where it is a variant spelling of the name Dylan. The name Dylan is derived from the Welsh elements "dy" meaning "great" and "llan" meaning "sea, ocean, or land". The name Dylen, therefore, carries the meaning of "great sea" or "great land".
In Welsh mythology, Dylan was a legendary figure associated with the sea and was said to have been born able to walk and swim. He was the son of the Welsh god Arawn and was considered a symbol of the power and majesty of the ocean. This connection to Welsh folklore and mythology contributed to the popularity of the name in Wales and its spread to other regions.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dylen dates back to the late 19th century, although it was relatively uncommon until the latter half of the 20th century. One of the earliest notable individuals with the name was Dylen Thomas, a Welsh writer and poet born in 1914. Thomas is renowned for his works such as "Under Milk Wood" and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night".
Another notable bearer of the name Dylen was Dylen Klebold, one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Klebold, born in 1981, along with his friend Eric Harris, carried out one of the deadliest school shootings in American history, resulting in the deaths of 13 people.
In the world of sports, Dylen Bundy is a professional baseball pitcher who has played for teams like the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels. He was born in 1992 and made his Major League Baseball debut in 2012.
Dylen Sprouse is an American actor and entrepreneur, best known for his role as Cody Martin on the Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody". He was born in 1992 and has also starred in various films and television shows.
Lastly, Dylen McDermott is an American actor and musician, born in 1961. He has appeared in several television series and films, including "The Practice", "Dark Blue", and "Hostages".
While the name Dylen is not as common as its traditional spelling Dylan, it has gained some popularity in recent decades, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. The name's connection to Welsh culture and mythology, as well as its meaning related to the sea and land, contribute to its distinctive character and appeal.
People
Dylen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dylen 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
Dylen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dylen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,040 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dylen 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 329,571 US residents.
Is Dylen a common name?
We classify Dylen as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,054 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dylen most popular?
The single biggest year for Dylen was 2004, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dylen is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dylen a male name?
Yes, 97.9% of people registered as Dylen 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.