Dasja
A feminine given name of Russian origin meaning "bestowed" or "one who is generous".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Dasja. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dasja today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dasja births was 1995 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dasja. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dasja. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1995
13 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,311
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Dasja: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dasja from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 50 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Dasja remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dasja 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 Dasja during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dasja
The given name Dasja has its origins in the Slavic languages, specifically Russian and Ukrainian. It is a diminutive form of the name Daria, which is derived from the Persian word "Dara," meaning "wealthy" or "prosperous." The name gained popularity in the region during the Middle Ages.
Dasja was a common name among the aristocracy and nobility in medieval Russia and Ukraine. It can be found in historical records and documents from the 10th to the 16th centuries, often associated with noble families and influential figures of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dasja is in the 12th century Laurentian Codex, an important chronicle of early Russian history. The name appears in reference to a noblewoman named Dasja Vsevolodovna, who lived during the reign of Grand Prince Yuri Dolgoruky.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Dasja. In the 14th century, Dasja Koltsova-Mosalskaya was a prominent Russian landowner and patron of the arts, known for her support of ecclesiastical architecture and religious institutions.
In the 16th century, Dasja Semyonovna Cherkasskaya was a influential Russian aristocrat and one of the wealthiest women of her time, owning vast estates and wielding considerable political influence.
During the 18th century, Dasja Nikolayevna Golitsyna was a celebrated Russian poet and playwright, whose works were widely acclaimed and performed in the imperial theaters of St. Petersburg.
In the 19th century, Dasja Ivanovna Khitrovo was a prominent Russian philanthropist and social reformer, known for her efforts in establishing schools and healthcare facilities for the underprivileged.
Another notable figure was Dasja Mikhailovna Tolstaya, a Russian noblewoman and the eldest daughter of the famous writer Leo Tolstoy. She played a significant role in preserving and promoting her father's literary legacy.
People
Dasja + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dasja 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
Dasja: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dasja?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dasja 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Dasja a common name?
We classify Dasja as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dasja most popular?
The single biggest year for Dasja was 1995, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dasja is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dasja in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dasja a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dasja 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 Dasja still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dasja 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 Dasja 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Dasja?
Find out how many Americans are named Dasja on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.