Dashon
An Anglicized spelling of the French name Dashon, meaning "from Ashton" or "from the ash tree town".
Name Census estimates that about 1,602 living Americans carry the first name Dashon. It is a predominantly male name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Dashon today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dashon births was 1993 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dashon. 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
1.6K
~ 1 in 213,954 Americans
Peak year
1993
69 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,474
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Dashon
Dashon leans heavily male at 98.0% of total registrations, but 33 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dashon as a male name
- Ranked #5,474 in 2024
- 17 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (68 births)
Dashon as a female name
- Ranked #10,846 in 1994
- 7 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1994 (7 births)
Popularity
Dashon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dashon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 601 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
Dashon 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 Dashon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dashons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. New Jersey, North Carolina, Illinois recorded the most babies named Dashon, while Texas, Missouri, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dashon
The given name Dashon is believed to have its origins in the Amharic language, which is one of the Semitic languages spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It likely emerged sometime in the late medieval or early modern period, possibly around the 16th or 17th century.
Dashon is thought to be derived from the Amharic word "dashän," which means "bravery" or "courage." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals who exhibited qualities of bravery or strength, either in battle or in other aspects of life.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some scholars believe that it may have been inspired by the Amharic word "dashen," which refers to a type of traditional Ethiopian bread or flatbread. This could indicate a connection to the culinary or agricultural traditions of the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dashon is found in the writings of the 17th-century Ethiopian scholar and philosopher, Zera Yacob. He mentioned a individual named Dashon who was a prominent figure in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church during that time period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Dashon. One example is Dashon Goldson (born 1984), an American former professional football player who played as a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Another notable figure is Dashon Burton (born 1992), an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the New Zealand Breakers in the National Basketball League (NBL).
In the field of music, Dashon Burton (born 1982) is an American operatic bass-baritone who has performed with prestigious opera companies and orchestras around the world.
The name Dashon is also associated with Dashon Bussie (born 1989), an American former professional basketball player who played in various leagues, including the NBA G League and overseas.
Lastly, Dashon Robertson (born 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in several European leagues, including the German Basketball Bundesliga and the French Pro A league.
People
Dashon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dashon 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
Dashon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dashon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,602 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dashon 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 213,954 US residents.
Is Dashon a common name?
We classify Dashon as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,642 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dashon most popular?
The single biggest year for Dashon was 1993, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dashon is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dashon a male name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Dashon 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.
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.