Languages: This boy's name is used in Welsh, English and French.

Nicknames: Tris

Alternative Spellings: Trystan

Variant Forms: Drystan and Tristram

Feminine Forms: Trista

Popularity: The name Tristan ranked 104th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 778th in popularity for males of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

This name first made its appearance on state popularity lists of the 1990s, and has been trending upward in usage ever since.

Narrative: In Celtic legend, Tristan (sometimes rendered as Tristram) is a young knight sent to retrieve Isolde, his king's betrothed, from Ireland. He falls in love with her and she with him, but of course their love is impossible. He goes off to war, and on his death bed sends for her. She arrives too late, and dies of grief.

This ancient name might derive from a Pictish original, Drostan, but the form was no doubt influenced by the French term triste, meaning ''sad.''

Alternative Spellings: Tristyn and Trystn

Variant Forms: Tristen, Triston and Tristin

Popularity: The name Tristan ranked 950th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 2812th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: In Celtic legend, Tristan is a young knight sent to retrieve Isolde, his king's betrothed, from Ireland. He falls in love with her and she with him, but of course their love is impossible. He goes off to war, and on his death bed sends for her. She arrives too late, and dies of grief.

This ancient name might derive from a Pictish original, Drostan, but the form was no doubt influenced by the French term triste, meaning ''sad.''