Popularity of the name Dylan, 1953–2025
Dylan was at its most popular in 2001, when 16,497 boys were given the name: about 1 in 120 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #21. In 2025, 6,208 boys were named Dylan, ranking #41. In all, Social Security counts 418,679 boys named Dylan since 1953. Social Security’s records also list 16,272 girls named Dylan.
- Peak year
- 2001
- Rank in 2001
- #21
- Babies in 2001
- 16,497
- Rank in 2025
- #41
- Total since 1953
- 418,679
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #27 in 2015 to #41 in 2025, with 10,298 boys named Dylan in 2015 and 6,208 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Dylan ranked highest in the 2000s, at #23, with 140,125 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #2,623 in the 1950s and #40 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 39 in 1960 (#1,252), 822 in 1980 (#265), 15,405 in 2000 (#24) and 6,857 in 2020 (#42).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 16,497, in 2001. Its best rank in any year was #19, first reached in 2003.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1953 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Dylan, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 5 | #3,798 |
| 1954 | 7 | #3,176 |
| 1955 | 12 | #2,302 |
| 1956 | 10 | #2,628 |
| 1957 | 11 | #2,494 |
| 1958 | 22 | #1,677 |
| 1959 | 30 | #1,439 |
| 1960 | 39 | #1,252 |
| 1961 | 33 | #1,388 |
| 1962 | 19 | #1,852 |
| 1963 | 34 | #1,338 |
| 1964 | 38 | #1,263 |
| 1965 | 47 | #1,081 |
| 1966 | 62 | #926 |
| 1967 | 63 | #910 |
| 1968 | 121 | #685 |
| 1969 | 228 | #514 |
| 1970 | 314 | #457 |
| 1971 | 257 | #509 |
| 1972 | 302 | #454 |
| 1973 | 277 | #473 |
| 1974 | 384 | #395 |
| 1975 | 454 | #365 |
| 1976 | 399 | #385 |
| 1977 | 530 | #338 |
| 1978 | 480 | #351 |
| 1979 | 639 | #305 |
| 1980 | 822 | #265 |
| 1981 | 729 | #283 |
| 1982 | 700 | #290 |
| 1983 | 777 | #266 |
| 1984 | 971 | #231 |
| 1985 | 1,331 | #188 |
| 1986 | 1,833 | #149 |
| 1987 | 1,997 | #141 |
| 1988 | 2,158 | #137 |
| 1989 | 2,853 | #115 |
| 1990 | 4,414 | #83 |
| 1991 | 9,763 | #46 |
| 1992 | 15,064 | #28 |
| 1993 | 12,686 | #32 |
| 1994 | 12,530 | #32 |
| 1995 | 12,091 | #34 |
| 1996 | 12,037 | #33 |
| 1997 | 12,968 | #30 |
| 1998 | 14,540 | #25 |
| 1999 | 15,981 | #23 |
| 2000 | 15,405 | #24 |
| 2001 | 16,497 | #21 |
| 2002 | 14,821 | #23 |
| 2003 | 15,703 | #19 |
| 2004 | 14,852 | #19 |
| 2005 | 13,782 | #24 |
| 2006 | 13,171 | #26 |
| 2007 | 12,811 | #29 |
| 2008 | 11,710 | #31 |
| 2009 | 11,373 | #30 |
| 2010 | 10,520 | #31 |
| 2011 | 9,792 | #33 |
| 2012 | 10,001 | #31 |
| 2013 | 10,127 | #29 |
| 2014 | 10,416 | #29 |
| 2015 | 10,298 | #27 |
| 2016 | 9,720 | #32 |
| 2017 | 9,315 | #29 |
| 2018 | 8,610 | #31 |
| 2019 | 7,555 | #39 |
| 2020 | 6,857 | #42 |
| 2021 | 6,767 | #44 |
| 2022 | 6,745 | #42 |
| 2023 | 7,074 | #34 |
| 2024 | 7,487 | #28 |
| 2025 | 6,208 | #41 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.