The name Tristan is a girl's name of Celtic origin meaning "noise or sorrowful".

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Though Tristan was the male figure in the romantic legend and his name has become trendy for boys, it's used now for girls, too: About 15 percent of the baby Tristans are female. And about three times as many girls are named Tristan as are named Isolde, Tristan's mythical female counterpart. There are also feminizations of Tristan, such as Tristana and Tristine, but these are much more rare than the original. 

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The name Tristan is currently ranked #869 in U.S. births. and peaked for girls at #592 in 1996. It is currently rising in popularity. The name is most popular in TRISTAN, TRISTAN, and TRISTAN. Tristan is also used for boys, ranking #267 in 2024 (more popular).

The name Tristan is a boy's name of Celtic origin meaning "noise or sorrowful".

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Tristan -- known through medieval legend and Wagnerian opera -- has a slightly wistful, touching air. This, combined with the name's popular "an" ending, makes Tristan very appealing to parents seeking a more original alternative to Christian.
 One influence was the character Tristan Ludlow played by Brad Pitt in the 1994 movie Legends of the Fall, based on a Jim Harrison novel.
 Tristan is a dragon-slaying hero of Celtic legend, whose story was incorporated into Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, in which Tristan is one of the Knights of the Round Table, consumed by his doomed love affair with Queen Isolde. Wagner set the story to music in his opera Tristan und Isolde.
 Tristan and its alternate form Tristram have been found in later lit as well. Tristram Shandy is a famous early comic novel by Laurence Sterne (in which the hero's father calls Tristram the worst name in the universe); Tristan is a major character in James Herriott's All Creatures Great and Small, and there is an eponymous novella by Thomas Mann.
 Particularly popular in Canada, Tristan was chosen for their sons by Travis Tritt, Wayne Gretzky, Natasha Henstridge and, most recently, by Elsa Pataky and Chris Hemsworth. Basketball player Tristan Thompson hails from Canada.
 Other variants of Tristan include Tristen, Tristin, Triston and Tristian.

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The name Tristan is currently ranked #267 in U.S. births. and peaked for boys at #68 in 1996. The name is most popular in TRISTAN, TRISTAN, and TRISTAN. Tristan is occasionally used for girls in 2024.

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