Dashel
A variant spelling of the Hebrew name Daniel meaning "God is my judge".
Name Census estimates that about 678 living Americans carry the first name Dashel. It is a predominantly male name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Dashel today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dashel births was 2009 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dashel. 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
678
~ 1 in 505,537 Americans
Peak year
2009
53 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,331
Tracked since 1995
Census
Dashel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 588 people with the first name Dashel, which placed it at #18,347 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
#18,347
National first-name rank
People counted
588
588 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dashel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dashel is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.1%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Dashel 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 Dashel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.8% · 434
- Two or more races11.1% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 51
- Black or African American4.4% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Dashel
Out of the 684 babies given the name Dashel since 1880, 99.1% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Dashel as a male name
- Ranked #4,331 in 2024
- 24 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (53 births)
Dashel as a female name
- Ranked #12,142 in 1995
- 6 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1995 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dashel leans strongly male. 548 people counted with this name were male (94.5%), compared with 32 female bearers (5.5%).
Popularity
Dashel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dashel from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 380 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dashel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dashel 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 Dashel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dashels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Washington, Texas recorded the most babies named Dashel, while Colorado, Texas, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dashel
Dashel is a unique given name with an intriguing history, originating from the Old English word "dæshel," which translates to "valley" or "dell." This name traces its roots back to the Anglo-Saxon era, spanning the 5th to 11th centuries.
The name's earliest known usage can be traced to the 8th century, when it was documented in ancient Anglo-Saxon chronicles and records. During this period, the name Dashel was commonly associated with individuals residing in or near valleys or low-lying areas, reflecting the name's geographical connotation.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dashel. One of the earliest recorded figures was Dashel the Scribe, a renowned calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts who lived in the 9th century. His intricate and beautifully crafted works were highly prized by the nobility and religious orders of his time.
Another prominent figure was Dashel Longstride, a celebrated explorer and cartographer from the 11th century. His detailed maps and accounts of his travels across Europe and the Middle East were instrumental in expanding the geographical knowledge of the era.
In the 13th century, Dashel the Weaver, a skilled artisan renowned for his exquisite tapestries and woven masterpieces, gained widespread recognition. His works adorned the halls of many noble households and cathedrals, showcasing his exceptional craftsmanship.
The name Dashel also found its way into literary works, with one of the earliest known references appearing in the epic poem "The Wanderer," written by an unknown Anglo-Saxon poet in the 9th or 10th century. The poem's protagonist, a solitary traveler, bears the name Dashel, reflecting the name's connection to journeys and exploration.
In more recent times, Dashel Hammett, an American writer and author of the iconic novel "The Maltese Falcon," born in 1894 and died in 1961, brought the name into the literary spotlight. His gritty and influential works in the detective fiction genre have left an indelible mark on the literary landscape.
While the name Dashel may not be as commonly used today as it once was, its rich history and evocative meaning continue to captivate those who appreciate the significance of names and their enduring legacies.
People
Dashel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dashel 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
Dashel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dashel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 678 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dashel 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 505,537 US residents.
Is Dashel a common name?
We classify Dashel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 684 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dashel most popular?
The single biggest year for Dashel was 2009, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dashel is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dashel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 588 people with the name Dashel, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,347 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 Dashel 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 Dashel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dashel leans strongly male. 548 people counted with this name were male (94.5%), compared with 32 female bearers (5.5%). 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 Dashel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dashel is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.1%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Dashel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dashel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (434 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 Dashel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dashel a male name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Dashel 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 Dashel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dashel 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 Dashel 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 have Dashel as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Dashel, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.