Dilynn
A modern invented name suggested by its elements to mean "follower".
Name Census estimates that about 533 living Americans carry the first name Dilynn. It is a predominantly female name (92.6% of registrations). The average person named Dilynn today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dilynn births was 2011 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dilynn. 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
533
~ 1 in 643,066 Americans
Peak year
2011
41 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2010 SSA rank
#6,986
Tracked since 1992
Census
Dilynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 472 people with the first name Dilynn, which placed it at #21,491 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
#21,491
National first-name rank
People counted
472
472 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dilynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dilynn is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Hispanic (10.6%). 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 Dilynn 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 Dilynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.7% · 291
- Black or African American18.0% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino10.6% · 50
- Two or more races7.4% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Dilynn
Dilynn leans heavily female at 92.6% of total registrations, but 40 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dilynn as a male name
- Ranked #9,004 in 2010
- 8 male births in 2010
- Peak: 2010 (8 births)
Dilynn as a female name
- Ranked #6,986 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (41 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dilynn leans strongly female. 395 people counted with this name were female (83.5%), compared with 78 male bearers (16.5%).
Popularity
Dilynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dilynn from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 302 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dilynn 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 Dilynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dilynns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dilynn
The name Dilynn is a unique and intriguing name with a rich history dating back to the ancient Gaelic language of Ireland and Scotland. Its origins can be traced to the Old Irish word "dile," meaning "beloved" or "dear one," and the Welsh word "llyn," which refers to a lake or pool of water.
In the early days of Celtic culture, names often held symbolic meanings or connections to nature, and Dilynn was no exception. It is believed that this name was initially bestowed upon individuals born near bodies of water, such as lakes or rivers, and was meant to signify their cherished status within the community.
While there are no definitive records of the name Dilynn appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its linguistic roots and cultural significance have been preserved through oral traditions and historical accounts.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Dilynn can be found in the Irish Annals, which document a 9th-century chieftain named Dilynn mac Cennétig, who ruled over a territory in what is now County Sligo, Ireland. This early reference suggests that the name was in use among the Celtic nobility during this time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Dilynn. One such figure was Dilynn ap Rhodri (c. 1030 – 1093), a Welsh prince and military leader who played a pivotal role in defending his homeland against Norman invaders in the 11th century.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Dilynn Baird (1676 – 1745), a Scottish philosopher and writer who made significant contributions to the Scottish Enlightenment with his works on moral philosophy and ethics.
In the realm of literature, Dilynn O'Malley (1824 – 1891) was an acclaimed Irish novelist and poet whose works explored themes of love, loss, and the complexities of human nature.
More recently, Dilynn Everett (1901 – 1983) was an American painter and sculptor renowned for her vibrant abstract expressionist works, which captured the spirit of the mid-20th century art scene.
Lastly, Dilynn Kiely (1938 – 2012) was an influential Irish-American activist and advocate for social justice, who dedicated her life to promoting equality and empowering marginalized communities.
While the name Dilynn may be lesser-known in modern times, its rich historical roots and enduring cultural significance serve as a testament to the enduring legacy of Celtic naming traditions and the profound connections between language, identity, and the natural world.
People
Dilynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dilynn 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
Dilynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dilynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 533 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dilynn 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 643,066 US residents.
Is Dilynn a common name?
We classify Dilynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 538 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dilynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Dilynn was 2011, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dilynn is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dilynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 472 people with the name Dilynn, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,491 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 Dilynn 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 Dilynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dilynn leans strongly female. 395 people counted with this name were female (83.5%), compared with 78 male bearers (16.5%). 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 Dilynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dilynn is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (18.0%) and Hispanic (10.6%). 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 Dilynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dilynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.7% (291 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 Dilynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dilynn a female name?
Yes, 92.6% of people registered as Dilynn in the SSA data are female. 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 Dilynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dilynn 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 Dilynn 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 have the name Dilynn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.