Dashan
A Chinese masculine name meaning "to bring back prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Dashan. It is a predominantly male name (95.5% of registrations). The average person named Dashan today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dashan births was 1998 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dashan. 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
212
~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans
Peak year
1998
12 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2021 SSA rank
#9,401
Tracked since 1971
Census
Dashan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 255 people with the first name Dashan, which placed it at #32,783 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
#32,783
National first-name rank
People counted
255
255 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dashan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dashan is Black at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.6%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Dashan 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 Dashan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.6% · 203
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.6% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 12
- Two or more races4.3% · 11
- White1.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Dashan
Dashan leans heavily male at 95.5% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dashan as a male name
- Ranked #12,556 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1998 (12 births)
Dashan as a female name
- Ranked #9,401 in 1975
- 5 female births in 1975
- Peak: 1973 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dashan leans strongly male. 218 people counted with this name were male (86.2%), compared with 35 female bearers (13.8%).
Popularity
Dashan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dashan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dashan 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 Dashan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dashans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dashan
The name Dashan has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that flourished in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "dash" meaning "ten" and "an" meaning "preserver" or "protector." The name, therefore, can be understood to mean "the preserver of ten principles," although the exact connotation is subject to interpretation.
In ancient Hindu texts and religious scriptures, such as the Vedas and Upanishads, the name Dashan is associated with various philosophical and spiritual concepts. Some scholars believe it may have been a title bestowed upon revered sages or teachers who upheld and preserved the ten virtues of righteous living.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dashan can be found in the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic that dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this ancient text, Dashan is mentioned as a wise and respected rishi (sage) who imparted valuable teachings to his disciples.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Dashan. One of the most prominent was Dashan Mishra (1499-1575), a celebrated Indian philosopher and scholar who made significant contributions to the field of Nyaya, one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy.
Another influential figure was Dashan Gupta (c. 7th century CE), a renowned mathematician and astronomer who authored several treatises on astronomy and mathematics, including the influential work "Dasha-Giti."
In the realm of spiritual leaders, Dashan Swami (1824-1887) was a prominent Hindu mystic and saint from the Nath Sampradaya tradition. He was known for his profound teachings on the path of self-realization and his emphasis on the practice of yoga and meditation.
During the medieval period, Dashan Singh (1670-1734) was a revered Sikh warrior and spiritual leader who played a crucial role in the establishment of the Khalsa, the collective body of initiated Sikhs.
In more recent times, Dashan Pandit (1887-1965) was a celebrated Indian writer and scholar who made significant contributions to the field of Marathi literature and was widely regarded for his literary criticism and translations of Sanskrit works.
While the name Dashan has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, its usage has transcended cultural and religious boundaries, with individuals from various backgrounds adopting it over the centuries.
People
Dashan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dashan 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
Dashan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dashan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dashan 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 1,616,766 US residents.
Is Dashan a common name?
We classify Dashan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 220 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dashan most popular?
The single biggest year for Dashan was 1998, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dashan is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dashan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 255 people with the name Dashan, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,783 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 Dashan 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 Dashan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dashan leans strongly male. 218 people counted with this name were male (86.2%), compared with 35 female bearers (13.8%). 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 Dashan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dashan is Black at 79.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.6%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Dashan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dashan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.6% (203 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 Dashan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dashan a male name?
Yes, 95.5% of people registered as Dashan 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 Dashan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dashan 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 Dashan 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 Dashan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Dashan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.