unisex name
Dallas
DAL-us
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 91,677
the United States
#238
2025 births
Dallas is the only rising name in this group — it peaked in 2015 and is still climbing, at 238th in the United States. The Scottish place behind it means meadow dwelling, and the Texas city was named for a man nobody can identify.
- Dallas is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 2015, when 1,971 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,756 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Dallas over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 234 |
| 1890s | 325 |
| 1900s | 492 |
| 1910s | 2,234 |
| 1920s | 4,144 |
| 1930s | 4,549 |
| 1940s | 4,669 |
| 1950s | 4,438 |
| 1960s | 3,530 |
| 1970s | 4,234 |
| 1980s | 6,673 |
| 1990s | 13,670 |
| 2000s | 10,681 |
| 2010s | 16,262 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10,950 |
What Dallas means
Dallas means the meadow dwelling, or the house on the dale. The Scottish place name joins an element for a field or meadow to one meaning a dwelling.
Where Dallas comes from
Dallas is a parish in Moray, from Brittonic or Gaelic elements usually read as a meadow joined to a dwelling. The Texas city is a separate problem: it was named in the 1840s and historians have never established which Dallas — George Mifflin Dallas, the vice president, is the usual guess, but the founder never said, and the question is genuinely open. The Scottish surname reached America independently of the city.
Dallas in use
Dallas peaked in the United States in 2015, when 1,971 babies were registered, and our data marks it rising — the only rising name in this group. It now ranks 238th in the United States on 1,888 births, 803rd in Ireland and 1295th in England and Wales, across 91,677 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. About 18 percent of recorded births are female.
How popular is Dallas?
In 2025, Dallas was given to 1,888 babies in the United States, ranking #238 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Dallas 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 Dallas
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Dallas also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Dallas over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Dallas 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Dallis
Sibling names for Dallas
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Dallas — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Dallas
What does the name Dallas mean?
The meadow dwelling — a parish in Moray, from Brittonic or Gaelic elements.
Who is Dallas, Texas named after?
Nobody knows. George Mifflin Dallas is the usual guess, but the founder never said and the question is open.
Is Dallas rising?
Yes — the only rising name in this group, at 238th in the United States.
Is Dallas a girls' name?
For about 18 percent of the births in our records.
How popular is the name Dallas?
In 2025, Dallas was given to 1,888 babies in the United States, ranking #238 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Dallas?
Dallas has 2 syllables.
When was Dallas most popular?
Dallas peaked in 2015, when 1,971 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Dallas a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Dallas currently ranks #238 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.