Dadrian
A variant of the Persian name Darya, meaning "sea" or "ocean".
Name Census estimates that about 654 living Americans carry the first name Dadrian. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dadrian today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dadrian births was 2000 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dadrian. 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
654
~ 1 in 524,089 Americans
Peak year
2000
28 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,432
Tracked since 1976
Census
Dadrian in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 518 people with the first name Dadrian, which placed it at #20,076 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,076
National first-name rank
People counted
518
518 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
70.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dadrian
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dadrian is Black at 70.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.7%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dadrian described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dadrian at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.1% · 363
- Hispanic or Latino13.7% · 71
- Two or more races7.7% · 40
- White6.6% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 10
Popularity
Dadrian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dadrian from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 228 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dadrian 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 Dadrian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dadrians live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dadrian
The name Dadrian has its origins in the Armenian language and culture, tracing back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Armenian word "dadār," which means "teacher" or "mentor." The name is believed to have emerged as a given name during the Bagratuni dynasty, which ruled Armenia from the 9th to 11th centuries CE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dadrian can be found in the 10th century Armenian manuscript "Vasn Kazmatsʿ Hayotsʿ," which details the lives of prominent Armenian scholars and clergymen. The manuscript mentions a renowned scholar named Dadrian Artsruni, who lived in the late 9th century and was revered for his contributions to Armenian literature and philosophy.
In the 12th century, the name Dadrian gained further recognition with the birth of Dadrian Vahramian, a celebrated Armenian architect and sculptor. Vahramian is credited with designing and overseeing the construction of several iconic Armenian churches and monasteries, including the Haghbat Monastery and the Cathedral of Ani.
Throughout the centuries, the name Dadrian has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to Armenian culture, education, and intellectual pursuits. One such figure was Dadrian Khachadrian (1844-1919), a prominent Armenian writer, educator, and advocate for women's rights. Khachadrian founded several schools in the Ottoman Empire and played a crucial role in promoting education among Armenian communities.
Another notable bearer of the name was Dadrian Aghababian (1892-1978), a renowned Armenian-American artist and educator. Aghababian's works were widely acclaimed, and he taught at various prestigious institutions, including the Rhode Island School of Design and the Massachusetts College of Art.
In more recent times, the name Dadrian has been closely associated with Vahakn N. Dadrian (1926-2019), a prominent scholar and historian who extensively researched and documented the Armenian Genocide. Dadrian's groundbreaking work on the genocide shed light on the atrocities committed against the Armenian people and played a pivotal role in raising global awareness about this tragic event.
While the name Dadrian may have ancient roots, it continues to be carried by individuals who exemplify the values of education, intellectual pursuits, and cultural preservation, reflecting the name's profound connection to Armenian heritage and traditions.
People
Dadrian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dadrian 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
Dadrian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dadrian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 654 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dadrian 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 524,089 US residents.
Is Dadrian a common name?
We classify Dadrian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 667 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dadrian most popular?
The single biggest year for Dadrian was 2000, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dadrian is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dadrian in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 518 people with the name Dadrian, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,076 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dadrian in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dadrian?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dadrian leans strongly male. 464 people counted with this name were male (89.2%), compared with 56 female bearers (10.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dadrian?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dadrian is Black at 70.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.7%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dadrian most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dadrian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.1% (363 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dadrian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dadrian a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dadrian 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.
Is Dadrian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dadrian in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dadrian can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Dadrian?
Want to know how many Americans are named Dadrian? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.