Dacian
Of ancient Thracian origin, meaning "free" or "man from Dacia".
Name Census estimates that about 298 living Americans carry the first name Dacian. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dacian today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dacian births was 2012 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dacian. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
298
~ 1 in 1,150,182 Americans
Peak year
2012
21 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,431
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Dacian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dacian from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 116 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dacian remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dacian by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dacian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dacians live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dacian
The given name Dacian has its origins in the ancient Dacian language, spoken by the Dacian people who inhabited the regions of modern-day Romania and surrounding areas during antiquity. The name is derived from the Dacian word "dacos," which means "brave" or "valiant."
The earliest known references to the Dacian people and their language can be traced back to the 1st century BC, when they were mentioned by Roman historians such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder. The Dacians were known for their fierce resistance against the Roman Empire, led by their legendary king, Decebalus.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dacian can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Cassius Dio, who chronicled the Dacian Wars between the Dacians and the Romans in the early 2nd century AD. He mentions a Dacian warrior named Dacian who fought bravely against the Roman legions.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Dacian. One such figure was Dacian Cioloș, a Romanian politician and former Prime Minister of Romania, born in 1969. Another was Dacian Groza, a Romanian footballer who played as a striker for various clubs in Romania and abroad between 1990 and 2009.
In the realm of literature, Dacian Julien Teodorescu was a prominent Romanian poet and novelist who lived from 1868 to 1919. His works explored themes of patriotism, love, and the struggles of the Romanian people.
In the field of science, Dacian Mihăilescu was a renowned Romanian mathematician and computer scientist, born in 1954. He made significant contributions to the fields of combinatorics and cryptography.
Lastly, Dacian Martinescu was a Romanian artist and sculptor who lived from 1923 to 2011. His works, which often depicted scenes from Romanian folklore and history, are displayed in various museums and public spaces throughout Romania.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Dacian throughout history, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and brave spirit associated with this ancient name.
People
Dacian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dacian as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dacian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dacian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 298 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dacian going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,150,182 US residents.
Is Dacian a common name?
We classify Dacian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 301 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dacian most popular?
The single biggest year for Dacian was 2012, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dacian is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dacian a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dacian in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.