Dair
A diminutive of Dari, a name of Arabic origin meaning "prosperous home".
Name Census estimates that about 76 living Americans carry the first name Dair. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dair today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dair births was 2009 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dair. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dair. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
76
~ 1 in 4,509,926 Americans
Peak year
2009
11 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,183
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Dair: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dair from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 28 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dair 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 Dair 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 Dair
The given name Dair has its roots in ancient Arabic culture, originating from the Arabic word "دار" (dar), which means "home" or "dwelling place." This name carries a sense of belonging, security, and familial ties, reflecting the importance of home and community in Arab societies.
In the early days of Islam, during the 7th and 8th centuries, the name Dair was occasionally used by Arab families, though it was not among the most widespread names. Its popularity grew gradually over the subsequent centuries, particularly in regions with strong Arab cultural influences, such as the Middle East and North Africa.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Dair can be found in the works of the renowned Arab historian and geographer, Al-Idrisi, who lived in the 12th century. In his writings, he mentioned a village called "Dair al-Amir" (The Prince's Monastery) located in present-day Lebanon, which may have been named after a person bearing the name Dair.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Dair. One of the earliest was Dair al-Kindi, a prominent Arab philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 9th century and made significant contributions to the fields of optics, music theory, and cryptography.
Another influential figure was Dair al-Attar, a renowned Sufi mystic and poet from the 12th century, whose spiritual works and teachings had a profound impact on Islamic mysticism and literature.
In the 14th century, Dair al-Wazir served as the vizier (prime minister) to the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, Al-Ashraf Khalil, and played a crucial role in the administration of the Mamluk Sultanate.
During the Ottoman Empire era, Dair Pasha was a prominent military commander and statesman who served as the governor of several provinces, including Damascus and Aleppo, in the late 16th century.
More recently, Dair Nour was a celebrated Egyptian filmmaker and screenwriter in the 20th century, known for his thought-provoking and socially conscious works that explored themes of identity, culture, and human relationships.
While the name Dair has maintained its presence throughout the centuries, it has remained relatively uncommon, particularly in modern times, retaining a sense of uniqueness and connection to its rich cultural heritage.
People
Dair + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dair 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
Dair: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dair?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 76 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dair 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 4,509,926 US residents.
Is Dair a common name?
We classify Dair as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dair most popular?
The single biggest year for Dair was 2009, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dair is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dair in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dair a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dair 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 Dair still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dair 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 Dair 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Dair?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.