Daoud
A masculine Arabic name meaning "beloved" or "friend".
Name Census estimates that about 266 living Americans carry the first name Daoud. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Daoud today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daoud births was 2019 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daoud. 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 Daoud with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
266
~ 1 in 1,288,550 Americans
Peak year
2019
16 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,153
Tracked since 1958
Census
Daoud in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 549 people with the first name Daoud, which placed it at #19,324 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
#19,324
National first-name rank
People counted
549
549 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daoud
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daoud is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.9%). 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 Daoud 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 Daoud at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.5% · 310
- Black or African American17.7% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.9% · 82
- Two or more races8.6% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 13
Popularity
Daoud: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daoud from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 76 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Daoud remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Daoud 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 Daoud during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Daouds live
Origin
Meaning and history of Daoud
The name Daoud has its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to ancient Semitic roots. It is derived from the root word "dawada," which means "to move around" or "to wander." The name is often associated with the biblical figure David, known for his iconic leadership as the king of Israel.
In the Islamic tradition, Daoud is revered as a prophet and is mentioned numerous times in the Quran. The name appears in Surah An-Naml (The Ants) and Surah Saba (Sheba), where it is associated with wisdom, leadership, and divine blessings. The Quran also highlights Daoud's skills in crafting armor and his ability to understand the language of animals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Daoud can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient Jewish religious manuscripts dating back to the third century BCE. These scrolls contain references to individuals bearing the name, suggesting its widespread use in the region during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Daoud. One of the most prominent was Daoud Pasha (1599-1636), an Ottoman Grand Vizier who served under Sultan Murad IV. He is renowned for his military campaigns against Persia and his efforts to strengthen the Ottoman Empire's defenses.
Another prominent figure was Daoud Khan (1665-1717), a Pashtun ruler who established the Hotaki dynasty in Persia. He is remembered for his successful campaigns against the Safavid dynasty and his brief reign as the Shah of Persia from 1722 to 1725.
In the modern era, Daoud Ammoun (1888-1957) was a Lebanese philosopher and writer who played a significant role in the Arab Renaissance movement. He advocated for the regeneration of Arab culture and literature and is considered one of the most influential Arab thinkers of the 20th century.
Daoud Badrawi (1910-1999) was an Egyptian musician and composer who made significant contributions to the development of Arabic music. He composed numerous works for film, television, and theater, and his compositions are celebrated for their blending of traditional Egyptian and Western styles.
Daoud Osman Shukri (1917-1986) was a prominent Sudanese politician and the first Prime Minister of Sudan after the country gained independence in 1956. He played a crucial role in the transitional period and worked towards establishing a stable democratic government in Sudan.
The name Daoud has a rich history spanning centuries and cultures, with a strong connection to religious and historical figures. Its enduring presence and prevalence across different regions and time periods reflect its cultural significance and the respect it commands.
People
Daoud + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daoud 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
Daoud: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daoud?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 266 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daoud 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 1,288,550 US residents.
Is Daoud a common name?
We classify Daoud as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 272 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daoud most popular?
The single biggest year for Daoud was 2019, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daoud is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Daoud in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 549 people with the name Daoud, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,324 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 Daoud 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 Daoud?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daoud appears almost entirely male. Of the 550 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Daoud?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daoud is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.9%). 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 Daoud most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Daoud in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.5% (310 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 Daoud in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daoud a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Daoud 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 Daoud still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daoud 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 Daoud 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 are named Daoud?
Find out how many Americans are named Daoud on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.