Tristan

Meaning: Sorrowful
Origin: From a Celtic root for tumult · Via French triste (from Celtic via French)

Boy's name · #309 in the US (2025) · 2000s wave

Popularity over time

Tristan reached its best rank, #68, in 1996 and ranked #309 in 2025. In a single year its births jumped from about 490 in 1994 to 3,100 in 1995 — the year Brad Pitt's Tristan filled theaters in Legends of the Fall.

Across the states

See where Tristan is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 49 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Tristan ranks in other countries and regions.

#131 in Slovenia (2025) · #210 in N. Ireland (2025) · #231 in Austria (2025) · #245 in Sweden (2025) · #273 in England & Wales (2025) · #327 in Ireland (2025) · #353 in Belgium (2025) · #364 in Scotland (2025) · #369 in Norway (2025) · #395 in France (2025) · #445 in Switzerland (2025) · #458 in Netherlands (2025) and 3 more.

Famous Tristans

Tristan Tzara — Romanian-French poet (1896–1963)
Tristan Bernard — French playwright (1866–1947)
Tristan Corbière — French poet
Tristan Thompson — Canadian basketball player
Tristan Wilds — American actor

In stories & tradition

Tristan — Tristan and Iseult (legend)
Tristan Taylor — Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light (anime series)
Tristan von Lahnstein — Verbotene Liebe (TV series)

What Tristans become

Among 638 notable people named Tristan:

Entertainers appear 1.45× more often than among typical names — e.g. Tristan Wilds, American actor.

Twin names

A popular twin pairing with Tristan is Trinity for a girl.

Similar names: Tristen · Collin · Trey · Marco · Cristian · Fabian

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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