Tristan, Tristram or Tristen is a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

derived from Welsh ''drust'' (meaning "noise", "tumult"), influenced by the French word '' triste'' and Welsh/ Cornish/ Breton '' trist'', both of which mean "bold" or "sad", "sorrowful". The name owes its popularity to the character of Tristan, one of the Knights of the Round Table and the

tragic hero A tragic hero (or sometimes tragic heroine if they are female) is the protagonist of a tragedy. In his ''Poetics (Aristotle), Poetics'', Aristotle records the descriptions of the tragic hero to the playwright and strictly defines the place that t ...

of ''

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...

''. Alternate form Tristram has also been in use since the Middle Ages and was the more usual form of the name after the publication of the 1759-60 comic novel '' Tristram Shandy'' by Laurence Sterne. Later usage of the name Tristan was influenced by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's 1860 opera ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...

''. The name Tristan became particularly well-used in the United States by parents who had attended college after it was used for a character on '' All Creatures Great and Small'', a 1978 British television series based on the memoirs of James Herriot. The popular series aired in the United States on PBS. The name Tristan later became popular with parents of all classes after Brad Pitt played Tristan Ludlow in the popular 1994 movie '' Legends of the Fall'', and also increased the usage of variant spellings Tristen, Tristin, Triston and Trystan, all of which also appeared among the 1,000 most popular names for boys in the United States in 1995. Usage of the name also increased after Tristan was used for characters in the 2006 film '' Tristan & Isolde'' and the 2007 fantasy film '' Stardust''. Tristan has been consistently among the top 1000 names given to baby boys in the United States since 1971. The name has been used in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

and in other countries such as Belgium, France, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain.

People with the mononym

Tristan

Tristan l'Hermite :''See also François Tristan l'Hermite'' Tristan l'Hermite (died ) was a French political and military figure of the late Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to ...

, French political and military figure of the late Middle Ages *

Tristan de Clermont Bartholomew "Tristan" de Clermont-Lodève (1380), Count of Copertino, was a French-born knight who married Catherine Orsini del Balzo, youngest daughter of Mary of Enghien and Raimondo Orsini del Balzo, Prince of Taranto. He was the father o ...

, Bartholomew "Tristan" de Clermont-Lodève (1380 – c. 1432), Count of Copertino, was a French-born knight who married Catherine del Balzo Orsini *

Tristan of Montepeloso Tristan (born before 1020) was the first lord of Montepeloso from 1042. Unlike his fellow Norman mercenaries, Tristan was a Breton. He was one of the twelve leading barons of the Hauteville following as indicated by his inclusion in the partiti ...

(born 1020), the first lord of Montepeloso from 1042 *

Tristan (musician) Tristan Cooke (born 1970), is a British psytrance and Goa trance DJ and producer. After graduating from Warwick University, he travelled throughout India playing at Full Moon parties in Goa, before returning to the UK in 1993 swiftly estab ...

(Tristan Cooke, born 1970), British psytrance and Goa trance DJ and producer * Tristan D (born Tristan Dorian, 1988), British Trance DJ and EDM

Tristán

Tristán de Luna y Arellano Tristán de Luna y Arellano (1510 – September 16, 1573) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador of the 16th century.Herbert Ingram Priestley, Tristan de Luna: Conquistador of the Old South: A Study of Spanish Imperial Strategy (1936). http://pa ...

(1510–1573), Spanish explorer and Conquistador

People with the given name

Tristan

* Tristan Bernard, French playwright and novelist *

Tristan Borges Tristan Daniel Borges (born August 26, 1998) is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Canadian Premier League club Forge FC. Early life Borges began playing youth soccer with Vaughan Azzurri, V ...

, Canadian soccer player * Tristan Cheung, Hong Kong professional footballer * Tristan da Silva (born 2001), German basketball player * Tristan Davies, British news executive * Tristan Do, Thai footballer * Tristan Evans, British drummer * Tristan A. Farnon, American webcomic author * Tristan Gale, American skeleton racer * Tristan Garel-Jones, British former MP * Tristan Gemmill, British actor *

Tristan Gommendy Tristan Emmanuel Benoît Gommendy (born 4 January 1979) is a French professional racing driver who last competed in the European Le Mans Series with Duqueine Team. Racing career Early career Born in Le Chesnay, Yvelines, Gommendy began his prof ...

, French racing driver * Tristan Hahót, Hungarian noble * Tristan Harris, American ethicist * Tristan Jarry, Canadian ice hockey player * Tristan Lamasine, French tennis player * Tristan Leigh (born 2003), American football player *

Tristan Louis Tristan Louis (born February 28, 1971) is a French-born American author, entrepreneur and internet activism, internet activist. Early work Louis was born in Digne-les-Bains, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. In 1994 and 1995, as publisher of iWorld, part ...

, French-American internet entrepreneur and writer * Tristan MacManus, Irish dancer * Tristan Murail, French composer * Tristan Nunez, American racing driver * Tristan Peersman, Belgian footballer * Tristan Plummer, English footballer * Tristan Prettyman, American singer-songwriter * Tristan Risk, Canadian film actress * Tristan Robbins, British cyclist * Tristan Rogers, Australian-American actor * Tristan Taormino, American feminist author/activist * Tristan Thomas, Australian athlete * Tristan Thompson, Canadian basketball player *

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...

, Romanian-French poet and performance artist * Tristan Vautier, French racing driver * Tristan Vizcaino (born 1995), American football player * Tristan Vukčević, Serbian basketball player * Tristan Wilds, American actor * Tristan Wirfs (born 1999), American football player * François Tristan l'Hermite, who wrote as "Tristan"

Tristram

* Sir Tristram Beresford, 1st Baronet (died 1673), Irish Member of Parliament * Sir Tristram Beresford, 3rd Baronet (1669–1701), Irish Member of Parliament, grandson of the above * Tristram Benjamin Bethea (1810–1876), American lawyer and politician * Tristram Cary (1925–2008), British-Australian pioneering electronic music composer * Tristram Coffin (disambiguation) * Tristram Conyers (1619–1684), English lawyer and politician * H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. (1941–2018), American philosopher * Tristram Hillier (1905–1983), English painter * Tristram Hunt (born 1974), British politician, historian and journalist * Tristram Kennedy (1805–1885), Irish politician and lawyer * Tristram Shapeero (born 1966), British television director * Tris Speaker (1888–1958), American Hall-of-Fame baseball player * Tristram Speedy (1836–1911), English explorer and adventurer * Tristram Stuart (born 12 March 1977), English activist and author * Tristram Tyrwhitt (c. 1530–1590), English Member of Parliament * Tristram Welman (1849–1931), English amateur cricketer

Tristán

* Tristán Bauer (born 1959), Argentine film-maker and screenwriter

Tristen

* Tristen Chernove (born 1975), Canadian Para cyclist and businessman * Tristen Gaspadarek, American singer-songwriter who performs as "Tristen" * Tristen Hoge (born 1997), American football player * Tristen Newton (born 2001), American basketball player * Tristen Walker, Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League

Tristin

* Tristin English (born 1997), American baseball player * Tristin Mays (born 1990), American actress and singer * Tristin Norwell, British composer, musician and producer

Triston

* Triston Jay Amero (1982–2008), American terrorist * Triston Casas (born 2000), American baseball player * Triston Chambers (born 1982), English footballer * Triston Cole (born 1976), American politician * Triston Grant (born 1984), Canadian ice hockey player * Triston Henry (born 1993), Canadian soccer player * Triston McKenzie (born 1997), American baseball player * Triston Palma (born 1962), Jamaican musician * Triston Reilly (born 1999), Australian rugby union player * Triston Wade (born 1993), American football player

Trystan

* Trystan Colon-Castillo (born 1998), American football player * Trystan Edwards (1884–1973), Welsh architectural critic and town planner * Trystan Gravelle (born 1981), Welsh actor * Trystan Owain Hughes (born 1972), British theologian, historian and author * Trystan Llŷr Griffiths (born c. 1987), Welsh tenor * Trystan Magnuson (born 1985), Canadian baseball player

Trishton

* Trishton Jackson (born 1998), American football player

Thriston

* Thriston Lawrence (born 1996), South African golfer

People with the surname

Tristan

* Brynjard Tristan (born 1976), Norwegian bassist and songwriter * Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon (1783–1853), French general during the Napoleonic Wars * Flora Tristan (1803–1844), French-Peruvian socialist writer and activist * Frédérick Tristan (1931–2022), French writer * Jean Tristan (pirate) (died 1692), French corsair (buccaneer) and pirate * Jean Tristan, Count of Valois (1250–1270), French prince of the Capetian dynasty * Julie Tristan, American television personality

Tristán

* Diego Tristán Herrera (born 1976), Spanish footballer * Louis Tristán (born 1984), Peruvian long jumper * Luis Tristán de Escamilla, also known as Luis de Escamilla or Luis Rodríguez Tristán (c.1585-1624), Spanish painter in the mannerist style * Miryam Tristán (born 1985), Peruvian footballer

Fictional characters

* Tristen, a boy in '' The Fortress Series'' of fantasy novels by C. J. Cherryh * Tristan Farnon, in the works of James Herriot * Tristan Ludlow, the protagonist of '' Legends of the Fall'' * Tristan McKee, in the web series '' The Most Popular Girls in School'' * Tristan Taylor, the English name of the character Hiroto Honda in the ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' franchise * Tristran Thorne, in Neil Gaiman's novel '' Stardust''; name changed to Tristan Thorne in the 2007 film * Tristan Volant, French name of Trevor Evans in the animated series '' Fireman Sam'' * Tristan Smith, in Peter Carey's novel '' The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith''. * Tristan Milligan in Canadian TV series '' Degrassi'' * Tristan McLean, actor and mortal father of the demigod Piper McLean in Rick Riordan's '' Heroes of Olympus'' * Tristan Duffy, in TV series '' American Horror Story: Hotel'' * Tristan Dugrey, in American TV series '' Gilmore Girls'' * Tristan of Avalon Towers, in Soman Chainani's book series ''

The School for Good and Evil ''The School for Good and Evil'' is a series of books by Soman Chainani based on fairy tales. The first novel in the series was published on May 14, 2013. The series is set in a fictional widespread location known as the Endless Woods. The ...

'' * Tristan Lycanth, played by Liv Rooney in Disney Channel's '' Liv and Maddie'' * Tristan Wren, from the 3D CGI animated television series '' Star Wars Rebels''

References

{{given name Welsh masculine given names Welsh given names Scottish masculine given names English masculine given names Masculine given names Irish masculine given names