girl's name
Dahlia
DAHL-yuh
- Origin Swedish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 24,016
the United States
#215
2025 births
Dahlia is a girl's name taken from the flower, which was named in honor of the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. His surname means valley in Swedish, so the name reaches back to a landscape word by way of a plant and a person rather than directly.
- Dahlia is a name of Swedish origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,420 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,335 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1890.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Dahlia over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 19 |
| 1900s | 16 |
| 1910s | 141 |
| 1920s | 228 |
| 1930s | 124 |
| 1940s | 151 |
| 1950s | 266 |
| 1960s | 307 |
| 1970s | 442 |
| 1980s | 390 |
| 1990s | 839 |
| 2000s | 2,428 |
| 2010s | 7,012 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 6,996 |
What Dahlia means
Dahlia names the flower, and the flower names a man. Anders Dahl's surname comes from the Swedish dal, a valley, so the sense underneath is valley — though nobody choosing the name is usually reaching past the bloom itself.
Where Dahlia comes from
Dahlia belongs to the wave of botanical names that entered English use in the nineteenth century, alongside Lily, Violet and Iris. The plant is native to Mexico and Central America, where it was cultivated long before European contact, and it was classified in Europe in the 1790s and named for Anders Dahl, a Swedish botanist and student of Linnaeus who had died a few years earlier. Dahl itself is a common Scandinavian surname from dal, a valley. The name appears in our records from 1890 and has grown steadily since the 2000s with the wider return of flower names.
Dahlia in use
Dahlia reached its highest recorded use in 2025, the most recent year in our records, having first appeared as far back as 1890.
How popular is Dahlia?
In 2025, Dahlia was given to 1,420 babies in the United States, ranking #215 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Dahlia is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Dahlia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Dahlia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Dahlia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Dahlia
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Dahlia in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Dahlia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Dahlia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Dahlia
What does the name Dahlia mean?
It names the dahlia flower, which was named for the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. His surname comes from the Swedish word for a valley.
How do you pronounce Dahlia?
DAHL-yuh is the most common pronunciation in both British and American English, though DAY-lee-uh is also heard.
Is Dahlia a popular name?
It is rising. It has been in the records since 1890 and reached its highest recorded use in the most recent year we hold.
Is Dahlia a girl's or a boy's name?
Dahlia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Dahlia?
Dahlia has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Dahlia?
Dahlia is usually shortened to Dolly, Dahl and Lia.
Is Dahlia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Dahlia currently ranks #199 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.