Given name & surname
Tristan
Tristan is used as a given name and a surname. One Celtic interpretation is “a sorrowful man; in Arthurian legend, a knight of the Round Table.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Celtic interpretation is “a sorrowful man; in Arthurian legend, a knight of the Round Table.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Celtic.
The story
Its literary history includes the stories of King Arthur and his knights.
Tristan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 130,794
- 124,243 boys · 6,551 girls
- Most popular year
- 1996
- 5,844 babies
- 2025
- 1,125
- #309 for boys · #5,706 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −51%
- Cooling
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 98% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,103 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 309 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 51.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 5,659 in 2008. It also appeared in 22 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (136). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 109,402 as a first name in 2020; 4,058 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Tristan’s family of names
In English usage, Tristan has a diminutive in Tris. Tristan has a feminine form in Trista. Tristan has a related form in Tristen.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Tristan has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Celtic roots to each of them.
9 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 7
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Tristan
- Tristan TzaraRomanian-French poet (1896–1963)
- Tristan CorbièreFrench poet1845–1875
- Tristan BernardFrench playwright (1866–1947)
- Tristan ThompsonCanadian basketball player (born 1991)
- Tristan WildsAmerican actorborn 1989
- Tristan GaleAmerican skeleton racerborn 1980
- Tristan WalkerCanadian Luge Athleteborn 1991
- Tristan DoThai and French footballerborn 1993
- Tristan MurailFrench composer and music pedagogueborn 1947
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Tristan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gavin
“a little white falcon”
>99% boys
Hector
“to hold; to overpower”
>99% boys
Percival
Percival is used as a given name, a surname, and a nickname. One French interpretation is “one who can pierce the vale; in Arthurian legend, the only one who could retrieve the Holy Grail.”
>99% boys
Wyn
“one who is fair; of the white wave” · “one who is fairskinned”
82% boys · 18% girls
Trevor
“from the large village”
>99% boys
Brendan
“born to royalty; a prince”
>99% boys
Oscar
“a spear of the gods” · “a friend of deer”
>99% boys
Connor
“lover of hounds” · “a wolf-lover”
>99% boys