Dajah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "crown" or "diadem".
Name Census estimates that about 1,978 living Americans carry the first name Dajah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dajah today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dajah births was 1999 (181 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dajah. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 173,283 Americans
Peak year
1999
181 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2003 SSA rank
#8,848
Tracked since 1989
Census
Dajah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,532 people with the first name Dajah, which placed it at #9,188 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
#9,188
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,532 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dajah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dajah is Black at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Dajah 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 Dajah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.4% · 1,308
- Two or more races6.1% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 74
- White2.9% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Dajah
Out of the 2,020 babies given the name Dajah since 1880, 99.7% 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.
Dajah as a male name
- Ranked #8,848 in 2003
- 7 male births in 2003
- Peak: 2003 (7 births)
Dajah as a female name
- Ranked #15,715 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1999 (181 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dajah appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,535 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Dajah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dajah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 925 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
Dajah 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 Dajah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dajahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, Illinois, Florida recorded the most babies named Dajah, while Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dajah
The name Dajah is believed to have its origins in Arabic and African cultures, although its precise etymology is somewhat ambiguous. It is thought to be a variant spelling or derivative of the Arabic name Daja, which means "dark-haired beauty" or "dark one." Some sources also suggest that Dajah may be derived from the Swahili word "daja," meaning "to be born at night."
In terms of historical references, the name Dajah does not appear to be extensively documented in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Dajah is Dajah bint Muhammad Al-Junayd (born c. 1050 CE), a renowned female scholar and poet from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain and Portugal) during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. Her poetry and writings on Islamic jurisprudence and theology were highly regarded in her time.
Another historical figure with the name Dajah was Dajah Al-Karimah (born c. 1150 CE), a renowned female calligrapher and artist from the Abbasid Caliphate in present-day Iraq. Her intricate calligraphic works adorned many mosques and palaces during the 12th century.
In the 19th century, Dajah Al-Hasani (1820-1890) was a prominent Moroccan scholar and religious leader. He was known for his extensive knowledge of Islamic theology and his efforts to promote education and literacy in his community.
In the 20th century, Dajah Abdullahi (1920-2002) was a Somali poet and songwriter whose works celebrated Somali culture and identity. Her poetry and songs were deeply influential in the Somali independence movement and the preservation of Somali literary traditions.
Dajah Akil (born 1964) is a contemporary American poet, educator, and activist. She has published several collections of poetry exploring themes of identity, social justice, and the African-American experience. Her works have been widely acclaimed and have earned her numerous literary awards and honors.
While the name Dajah does not have an extensive documented history, it has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the centuries, particularly in the realms of literature, arts, and scholarship. Its Arabic and African roots contribute to its unique cultural significance and enduring appeal.
People
Dajah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dajah 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
Dajah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dajah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,978 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dajah 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 173,283 US residents.
Is Dajah a common name?
We classify Dajah as "Rare". It ranks above 93.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,020 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dajah most popular?
The single biggest year for Dajah was 1999, when 181 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dajah 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 Dajah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,532 people with the name Dajah, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,188 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 Dajah 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 Dajah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dajah appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,535 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Dajah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dajah is Black at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Dajah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dajah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (1,308 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 Dajah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dajah a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Dajah 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 Dajah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dajah 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 Dajah 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 people share the name Dajah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.