Dalal
An Arabic name meaning "female broker" or "intermediary".
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the first name Dalal. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dalal today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dalal births was 2008 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dalal. 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 Dalal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
431
~ 1 in 795,254 Americans
Peak year
2008
20 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,030
Tracked since 1978
Census
Dalal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,225 people with the first name Dalal, which placed it at #10,729 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
#10,729
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,225 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dalal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dalal is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Dalal 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 Dalal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 1,088
- Two or more races4.7% · 58
- Black or African American3.4% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Dalal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dalal from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 121 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dalal remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dalal 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 Dalal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dalals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dalal
The name Dalal is of Arabic origin and is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "dallala," meaning "to guide" or "to lead." It is a unisex name, although it is more commonly used as a feminine name in the Arabic-speaking world.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dalal dates back to the 7th century, during the Islamic Golden Age. It is believed to have been used as a name for newborn girls, signifying their role as a guide or leader in their family or community.
One of the earliest known references to the name Dalal can be found in the poetry of the renowned Arab poet Al-Mutanabbi, who lived from 915 to 965 AD. In one of his poems, he mentions a woman named Dalal, describing her as a beautiful and virtuous woman.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dalal. One of the most famous is Dalal Al-Mughrabi (1958-1978), a Palestinian militant who participated in the Coastal Road Massacre in 1978, in which she and her group killed over 30 Israeli civilians.
Another notable figure is Dalal Al-Bazri (1927-2011), an Iraqi poet and writer who was known for her lyrical poetry and her advocacy for women's rights. She published several collections of poetry and was awarded numerous literary awards during her lifetime.
In the world of sports, Dalal Noor (born 1982) is a Kuwaiti track and field athlete who specializes in the heptathlon and long jump. She has represented Kuwait in several international competitions, including the Olympic Games.
In the realm of politics, Dalal Mughrabi (1953-1978) was a Palestinian militant and member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). She was involved in several attacks against Israeli targets, including the Coastal Road Massacre in 1978, where she and her group killed over 30 Israeli civilians.
Another notable figure is Dalal Bint Abdul-Rahman Al Saud (1939-2008), a member of the Saudi royal family and a philanthropist. She founded several charitable organizations and was known for her humanitarian work, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Dalal throughout history. While the name has been used across various cultures and regions, it remains deeply rooted in its Arabic origins and has maintained its significance as a name associated with guidance and leadership.
People
Dalal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dalal 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
Dalal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dalal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 431 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dalal 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 795,254 US residents.
Is Dalal a common name?
We classify Dalal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dalal most popular?
The single biggest year for Dalal was 2008, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dalal is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dalal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,225 people with the name Dalal, or 0.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,729 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 Dalal 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 Dalal?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dalal leans strongly female. 1,209 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 19 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Dalal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dalal is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Dalal most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dalal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (1,088 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 Dalal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dalal a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dalal 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 Dalal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dalal 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 Dalal 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 Dalal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.