Dillion
Obscure origin, possibly from the French 'de l'ion' meaning "from the lion".
Name Census estimates that about 3,570 living Americans carry the first name Dillion. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dillion today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dillion births was 1992 (354 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dillion. 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 Dillion with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.6K
~ 1 in 96,010 Americans
Peak year
1992
354 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,485
Tracked since 1979
Census
Dillion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,880 people with the first name Dillion, which placed it at #4,694 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
#4,694
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,880 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dillion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dillion is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Dillion 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 Dillion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.1% · 2,799
- Black or African American10.2% · 396
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 340
- Two or more races4.5% · 176
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 76
Gender
Gender distribution for Dillion
Out of the 3,644 babies given the name Dillion since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Dillion as a male name
- Ranked #5,485 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (354 births)
Dillion as a female name
- Ranked #13,877 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dillion leans strongly male. 3,827 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 55 female bearers (1.4%).
Popularity
Dillion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dillion from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,001 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
Dillion 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 Dillion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dillions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Dillion, while Mississippi, Kansas, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 70 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dillion
The name Dillion has its origins in the Gaelic language, stemming from the Irish surname Ó Duilleáin. This surname is derived from the word "duilleog," which translates to "leaf" or "folio." The name likely emerged in Ireland during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dillion dates back to the 16th century in Ireland. It was initially used as a surname, but over time, it transitioned into a given name as well. The name's connection to nature and the symbolism of leaves may have contributed to its appeal.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dillion was Sir Lucas Dillon (1578-1628), an Irish soldier and landowner who served in the Spanish Army of Flanders. He played a significant role in the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands.
Another notable figure bearing the name Dillion was John Dillon (1851-1927), an Irish politician and nationalist leader. He served as a Member of Parliament for East Mayo and played a crucial role in the Irish Home Rule movement, advocating for greater autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom.
In the realm of literature, Dillion Wentworth Hicock (1879-1952) was an American author and journalist known for his works on natural history and outdoor adventure. His books, such as "The Grand Cañon of the Colorado River" and "The Explorer's Cañon," offered vivid descriptions of the American West.
Dillion Harper (born 1991) is a contemporary American actress and adult film performer. She has received numerous awards and accolades within the adult entertainment industry, including multiple AVN Awards and XBIZ Awards.
In the field of sports, Dillion Gabriel (born 1999) is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Oklahoma Sooners. He previously played for the University of Central Florida and was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2019.
Across various cultures and time periods, the name Dillion has maintained a connection to its Irish roots and the symbolism of nature. Its historical references and notable individuals bearing the name have contributed to its enduring popularity.
People
Dillion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dillion 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
Dillion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dillion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,570 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dillion 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 96,010 US residents.
Is Dillion a common name?
We classify Dillion as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,644 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dillion most popular?
The single biggest year for Dillion was 1992, when 354 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dillion is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dillion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,880 people with the name Dillion, or 1.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,694 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 Dillion 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 Dillion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dillion leans strongly male. 3,827 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 55 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Dillion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dillion is White at 72.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Dillion most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dillion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.1% (2,799 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 Dillion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dillion a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Dillion 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 Dillion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dillion 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 Dillion 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 many people are called Dillion?
Find out how many Americans are named Dillion on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.