Tristan
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Tristan
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.
Tristan for boys#309 US
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.
Tristan for girls#5706 US
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.
Pronounced TRIS-tun.
As of October 2026, Tristan ranked #309 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #68 in 1996, Nameberry popularity #113.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #98 | 3,927 | #2,841 | 61 |
| 2015 | #101 | 3,926 | #2,338 | 80 |
| 2016 | #108 | 3,636 | #2,536 | 71 |
| 2017 | #121 | 3,308 | #3,238 | 50 |
| 2018 | #123 | 3,229 | #3,841 | 39 |
| 2019 | #151 | 2,569 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #182 | 2,124 | #3,732 | 40 |
| 2021 | #208 | 1,822 | #4,161 | 35 |
| 2022 | #225 | 1,600 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #253 | 1,379 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #267 | 1,296 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #309 | 1,103 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Tristan.
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Tristan on lists
Famous Tristans
- Tristan Tzara (born Samuel Rosenstock)Boy
Romanian,French avant,garde artist
- Tristan Trevor James ThompsonBoy
Canadian basketball player
- Tristan Paul Mack WildsBoy
American actor
- Tristan BowenBoy
American soccer player
- Tristan John GemmillBoy
English actor
- Tristan Somchai DoBoy
Thai footballer
- Tristan ThomasBoy
Australian Olympic hurdler
- Tristan GommendyBoy
French racing driver
- Tristan MacManusBoy
Irish dancer on TV's "Dancing with the Stars"
- Tristan Oliver Vance EvansBoy
drummer for British band The Vamps
- Tristan VautierBoy
French racing driver
- Tristan RogersBoy
Australian,American actor
- Tristan BernardBoy
French playwright
- Tristan Dean ResnickBoy
American child model
- Tristan TalesBoy
American YouTuber
- Jared Tristan PadaleckiBoy
American actor
- Tristan Bates (b. 1971)Boy
son of actors Alan Bates and Victoria Ward; twin brother of actor Benedick Bates
- Tristan James Tritt (b. 1999)Boy
son of singer Travis Tritt
- Tristan Blackley (b. 2005)Boy
son of baseball player Travis Blackley
- Tristan Wohlert (b. 2006)Boy
son of singers Johan Wohlert of Mew and Pernille Rosendahl of Swan Lee
- Tristan Cousins (b. 2007)Boy
son of skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Steven Cousins
- Tristan Ayley (b. 2010)Boy
son of bassist Mike Ayley of Marianas Trench
- Tristan Milos Trump (b. 2011)Boy
son of Don Trump, Jr.; grandson of U.S. President Donald Trump
- Tristan Blaise Lagle (b. 2011)Boy
son of TV personalities Hope Harbert and Ben Lagle of "16 and Pregnant"
- Tristan Hemsworth (b. 2014)Boy
son of actor Chris Hemsworth; twin of brother Sasha
- Tristan Ann PrettymanGirl
American singer,songwriter
- Tristan TaorminoGirl
American feminist author
- Tristan AyleyGirl
son of Marianas Trench bassist Mike Ayley
Tristan in pop culture
- Nikolaj Tristan Johan von Henningsen de BrettevilleBoy
main male character in Scarlett Avery’s book “Undeniable Seduction”.
- TristanBoy
Cornish knight in the 12th century legend "Tristan and Isolde"
- Tristan ThornBoy
character in Neil Gaiman's "Stardust"
- Tristan LudlowBoy
character in movie "Legends of the Fall"
- Tristan DuGrayBoy
character on TV's "Gilmore Girls"
- Tristan FarnonBoy
a main character in James Herriot's "All Creatures Great and Small" series
- Tristan MilliganBoy
character on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
- Tristan McLeanBoy
character in the Heroes of Olympus series
- Tristan BerkeleyBoy
character in The Mother,Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick
- Lord Tristan KentBoy
character in Karen Lynch's Relentless Series
- Tristan MckieBoy
character in the YouTube series "Most Popular Girls in School"
- Tristan de MartelBoy
character on TV's "The Originals"
- "Tristan"Boy
song by Patrick Wolf