The meaning of the name “Tristan” is different in several languages, countries and cultures and has more than one possibly same or different meanings available.
Additional information: Tristan is a masculine name of both Welsh and French origin. In Welsh it has the meaning ‘noise of arms’ or ‘clanking sword’, and in French it holds the meaning ‘sorrowful’, and is an Old French form of Drustan, a diminutive of the the Celtic – Gaelic name Drust, from Drest (tumult, a riot). The name was popularized in the middle ages by the Arthurian legend of the dragon-slaying hero Tristan and his doomed affair with Queen Isolde. This, in turn, was turned into the opera Tristan und Isolde by Wagner. Similar names to Tristan are Tristen, Tristin, Triston, and Tristam – all of these are English spellings. Foreign language variants for Tristan include Drystan (Welsh), Tristão (Portuguese), and Tristán (Spanish). Diminutives for Tristan usually involve shortening the name to Tris, and the feminine form of Tristan is Trista. Tristan is commonly misspelled as ‘Tristin’, ‘Tristian’, and ‘Trsitan’.
Although Tristan only entered the top thousand names in the USA in 1971, its popularity as a boy’s name quickly spiked – it had reached the top hundred names for boys by 1996, and has been in the top 150 names up until 2014. Tristan has seen brief interludes of relative popularity as a girl’s name in the USA, but these periods have never lasted longer than five years. Tristan is less popular as a name in England and Wales, and struggles to reach the top 150 names – it was the 163rd most popular name for boys in 2014.
Famous people with the name Tristan include Tristan Bernard (French playwright and novelist), Tristan Murail (French composer), and Tristan Tzara (Romanian-French avant-garde poet). Fictional characters named Tristan include Tristan Ludlow from Legends of the Fall, Tristan Milligan from Degrassi, and Tristan Thorne from the film adaption of the Neil Gaiman novel Stardust (in the original novel, this character was named Tristran).
The first thing you should know if you are considering Tristan for your baby's name is that in most countries all over the world the name Tristan is a boy name.
The name Tristan is of Celtic - Gaelic , Welsh origins, which means it has more than one root, and is used in more than one countries and different languages of the world, especially English speaking countries, Gaelic speaking countries among others.
If you consider naming your baby Tristan we recommend you take note of the special meaning and history of the name as your baby’s name will play a big role in its life and your baby will hear it spoken every day. Searching for a name is a very important and fun process as it’s the very first gift you will give to your baby. Many people believe that the name can affect success in life, through their children's working career and other circumstances, so they choose more “respectable” names or name meanings as they believe that the name meaning reflects the personality of the child.
Tristan Name Meaning
The meaning of Tristan has more than one different etymologies. It has same or different meanings in other countries and languages. The different meanings of the name Tristan are:
American meaning: Bold
Celtic - Gaelic meaning: Sad
French meaning: Bold
Scottish meaning: Bold
Latin meaning: Laborer
Keep in mind that many names may have different meanings in other countries and languages, so be careful that the name that you choose doesn’t mean something bad or unpleasant. Search comprehensively and find the name meaning of Tristan and its name origin or of any other name in our database. Also note the spelling and the pronunciation of the name Tristan and check the initials of the name with your last name to discover how it looks and sounds. The history and meaning of the name Tristan is fascinating, learn more about it. (If you know more meanings of the name and you would like to contribute click here to submit another name meaning).
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Name Tristan Categories
The name Tristan is in the following categories: American Names, Celtic Names, English Names, French Names, Gaelic Names, Latin Names, Mythological Names, Places Names, Scottish Names, Welsh Names. (If you would like to suggest one or more categories for the name, click here). We have plenty of different baby name categories to search for special meanings plus popular and unique names, search our database before choosing but also note that baby name categories designed to help you and not to be an influential factor when choosing a name. Instead, we recommend that you pay a greater attention to the origin and meaning of the name Tristan. Read our baby name articles for useful tips regarding baby names and naming your baby. If you are thinking of giving your baby the beautiful name Tristan, spread the love and share this with your friends.
Popularity of the Name Tristan
Below you will find the popularity of the baby name Tristan displayed annually, from 1880 to the present day in our name popularity chart. Hover over or click on the dots that represent a year to see how many babies were given the name for that year, for both genders, if available.
Tristan Boy Name Popularity Chart
Tristan Girl Name Popularity Chart
Note:The data above is from the Social Security Administrator of United States, (more info here) from Social Security card applications for births in US for every name, from 1880 up to the present year. The gender associated with the name might be incorrect, as the data presents the record applications without being edited for errors. The name's popularity and ranking is announced annually, so the data for this year will not be available until next year. The more babies that are given a name, the higher popularity ranking the name receives. For names with the same popularity, the tie is solved by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. This means that if two or more names have the same popularity their rankings may differ significantly, as they are set in alphabetical order. If a name has less than five occurrences, the SSA excludes it from the provided data to protect privacy.
If you’re not sure yet, see our wide selection of both boy names and girl names all over the world to find the ideal name for your new born baby. We offer a comprehensive and meaningful list of popular names and cool names along with the name's origin, meaning, pronunciation, popularity and additional information.
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Tristan
