Daina
A feminine name of Lithuanian origin meaning "song" or "poem".
Name Census estimates that about 2,228 living Americans carry the first name Daina. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Daina today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daina births was 1964 (88 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daina. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Daina with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 153,839 Americans
Peak year
1964
88 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1971 SSA rank
#5,055
Tracked since 1924
Census
Daina in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,853 people with the first name Daina, which placed it at #5,824 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
#5,824
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,853 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daina
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daina is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and Black (15.5%). 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 Daina 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 Daina at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.6% · 1,730
- Hispanic or Latino16.3% · 464
- Black or African American15.5% · 442
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 122
- Two or more races2.6% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 22
Gender
Gender distribution for Daina
Out of the 2,517 babies given the name Daina since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Daina as a male name
- Ranked #5,055 in 1971
- 5 male births in 1971
- Peak: 1971 (5 births)
Daina as a female name
- Ranked #8,539 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1964 (88 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daina leans strongly female. 2,805 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 47 male bearers (1.6%).
Popularity
Daina: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daina from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 528 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daina 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 Daina during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dainas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Daina, while Washington, Tennessee, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Daina
The name Daina has its origins in the Lithuanian language and culture. It is derived from the Lithuanian word "daina," meaning "song" or "melody." The name likely emerged during the medieval period when Lithuanian folklore and oral traditions were deeply rooted in society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Daina can be found in the Lithuanian folk tales and legends, where it was often used as a symbolic representation of the power of music and storytelling. These tales were passed down orally from generation to generation, preserving the cultural significance of the name.
In the 16th century, the name Daina gained prominence with the rise of the Lithuanian literary renaissance, a period marked by the flourishing of Lithuanian literature, poetry, and music. During this time, several notable writers and poets, such as Kristijonas Donelaitis (1714-1780), incorporated the name Daina into their works, further solidifying its association with the artistic expression of the Lithuanian people.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Daina. One of the most famous was Daina Gudzinevičiūtė (1952-2020), a Lithuanian singer and actress who rose to fame in the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s. Her powerful voice and captivating stage presence made her a beloved figure in the Lithuanian cultural landscape.
Another noteworthy figure was Daina Kazlauskas (born 1942), a Lithuanian-American sculptor and artist known for her intricate and thought-provoking works. Her sculptures have been exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States and Europe.
In the realm of sports, Daina Gudzinevičiūtė (born 1965) was a Lithuanian basketball player who represented the Soviet Union in international competitions, winning numerous medals and championships throughout her career.
Daina Purs (born 1978) is a contemporary Latvian singer and songwriter, known for her unique fusion of traditional Latvian folk music and modern pop elements. Her music has gained popularity not only in Latvia but also among audiences across the Baltic region.
Lastly, Daina Mustāne (born 1958) is a Latvian politician and former member of the European Parliament, where she advocated for environmental and sustainability initiatives, reflecting the deep-rooted connection between the name Daina and the natural world in Baltic cultures.
People
Daina + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daina 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
Daina: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daina?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daina 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 153,839 US residents.
Is Daina a common name?
We classify Daina as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,517 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daina most popular?
The single biggest year for Daina was 1964, when 88 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daina is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Daina in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,853 people with the name Daina, or 0.94 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,824 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 Daina 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 Daina?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daina leans strongly female. 2,805 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 47 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Daina?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daina is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.3%) and Black (15.5%). 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 Daina most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Daina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.6% (1,730 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 Daina in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daina a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Daina in the SSA data are female. 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 Daina still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daina 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 Daina 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 Daina?
See how many Americans are named Daina on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.