ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 👧As Girl Name 1970 First Year 2026 Last Year 2022 Peak Year #336 Peak Rank 9K Total Count 33 Years Active 👦As Boy Name 2008 First Year 2026 Last Year 2022 Peak Year #2057 Peak Rank 625 Total Count 19 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Dream What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. A dream is a succession of images, dynamic scenes and situations, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend more than two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream) ### Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name) * English 📜Etymology In Old English , the word drēam was used to describe "noise", "joy", or "music", but not related to the sleep-induced brain activity. It was only in the 13th century that the word dream was used to describe "a series of thoughts, images or emotions occurring during sleep". Etymologists believe that this change was influenced due to the Old Norse draumr , which had the same meaning as the word dream nowadays. [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Dream](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/A_dream_%28BM_1868%2C0808.9057%29.jpg/330px-A_dream_%28BM_1868%2C0808.9057%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream) 📖 ## The Story of Dream ### As a girl name The earliest SSA record of Dream as a girl name dates back to 1970, when 6 babies received it. 2022 was its biggest year on record, with 957 newborns named Dream — #336 in the national rankings. About 70% of every Dream on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Dream ranks #340 for girls with 912 births, rising sharply (+49% over the past five years). All told, over 9K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s. ### As a boy name American parents first put Dream on the record books as a boy name in 2008, with 6 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 2022, when 73 Dreams were born — ranking #2,057 that year. About 69% of every Dream on record arrived during the 2020s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Dream ranks #2,205 for boys with 66 births, rising sharply (+55% over the past five years). All told, over 625 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 2000s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time Girls Boys ## Popularity by State 👧 Girls 👦 Boys ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🔗 ## Variants & Related Forms of Dream Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Dream. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Jream](/jream) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Dream Phonetically similar names — useful when Dream is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * Drum * Dram * Drome * [Durham](/durham) * Drem * Drom * Drumm * Drime * Drim * Dirham * Droom * Dreams Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Dream What does the name Dream mean? A dream is a succession of images, dynamic scenes and situations, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend more than two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes. What is the origin of the name Dream? Dream has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English. How popular is Dream in 2026? In 2026, Dream ranks #340 among girls' names in the U.S., with 912 babies given the name that year. When was Dream most popular? Dream reached its peak popularity in 2022, ranking #336 that year with 957 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Dream most popular? Dream has historically been most popular in District of Columbia, Louisiana, Delaware. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Dream. Is Dream a unisex name? Yes — Dream is used for both girls and boys in U.S. records, with about 93% of Dreams assigned female and 7% assigned male historically. What names go well with Dream? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Dream include Antonia, Corine, Renata. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. What are nicknames or variants of Dream? Common variants and related forms of Dream include Jream. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms. ## Similar Names ### 👧 Similar Girl Names [👧AntoniaPeak #336](/antonia)[👧CorinePeak #336](/corine)[👧RenataPeak #336](/renata)[👧SunnyPeak #336](/sunny) ### 👦 Similar Boy Names [👦SangPeak #2057](/sang)[👦WyntonPeak #2057](/wynton)[👦ObrianPeak #2057](/obrian)[👦LamarioPeak #2057](/lamario) ## About the name Dream Dream is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1970 and has accumulated 9K births in the dataset. Dream's peak popularity came in 2022 when it ranked #336\. Use the chart and map above to compare Dream's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 2022 → ](/year/2022) * [ Names of the 2020s → ](/decade/2020s) * [ Names starting with "D" → ](/letter/d) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) * [ Browse unisex names → ](/names/unisex) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.