Dahl
A Scandinavian name possibly derived from the Old Norse word for valley.
Name Census estimates that about 70 living Americans carry the first name Dahl. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dahl today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dahl births was 1940 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dahl. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Dahl is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dahls were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dahl. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
70
~ 1 in 4,896,491 Americans
Peak year
1940
15 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1963 SSA rank
#4,166
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Dahl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dahl from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 65 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dahl 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 Dahl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dahl
The name Dahl has its origins in Old Norse, the language spoken by the Vikings and other Scandinavian peoples from the 8th to the 13th centuries. It is derived from the Old Norse word "dalr," meaning "valley" or "dale." This suggests that the name may have initially been used to identify someone who lived in a particular valley or dale.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dahl can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of prose narratives written in the 13th century. These sagas mention several individuals with the name Dahl or variations thereof, indicating that the name was in use among the Norse people during that time period.
In the realm of historical figures, one notable bearer of the name Dahl was Roald Dahl (1916-1990), the renowned British author famous for beloved children's books such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Matilda," and "The BFG." Dahl's Norwegian heritage likely influenced his choice of name.
Another famous Dahl was Robert Dahl (1915-2014), an American political theorist and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of democracy and political pluralism. His works, such as "Who Governs?" and "Polyarchy," have had a lasting impact on political science.
In the field of science, we have John Dahl (1928-2019), an American physicist and engineer who played a crucial role in the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS). His pioneering work on satellite navigation systems has had a profound impact on modern technology.
Moving to the arts, we can mention Andrea Dahl (1638-1689), a Swedish painter known for her exquisite still-life paintings and portraits. Her works are celebrated for their technical mastery and attention to detail, and she was one of the few female artists to achieve widespread recognition in the 17th century.
Finally, in the realm of sports, there is Bobby Dahl (1924-2006), an American professional baseball player who spent 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher and outfielder. He played for several teams, including the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs, and was known for his defensive skills behind the plate.
People
Dahl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dahl 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
Dahl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dahl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 70 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dahl 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 4,896,491 US residents.
Is Dahl a common name?
We classify Dahl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 147 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dahl most popular?
The single biggest year for Dahl was 1940, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dahl is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dahl a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dahl 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.