Dava
Dava is a feminine name derived from Sanskrit meaning "offering, gift".
Name Census estimates that about 1,242 living Americans carry the first name Dava. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dava today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dava births was 1954 (50 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dava. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 275,970 Americans
Peak year
1954
50 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,850
Tracked since 1931
Census
Dava in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,290 people with the first name Dava, which placed it at #10,377 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
#10,377
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dava
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dava is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Dava 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 Dava at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.5% · 1,000
- Black or African American11.7% · 151
- Two or more races4.8% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 14
Popularity
Dava: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dava from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 302 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dava 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 Dava during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Davas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Dava, while Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dava
The name Dava has its roots in Sanskrit, the ancient language of the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have originated around the 3rd century BCE during the Maurya Empire. Dava is derived from the Sanskrit word "dava," which means "fire" or "light." This connection to fire and light suggests a spiritual and symbolic significance to the name.
Dava was a relatively uncommon name in ancient times, but it did appear in some Hindu religious texts and scriptures. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name is found in the Mahabharata, the epic Sanskrit poem composed between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. In the text, Dava was the name of a minor character, a warrior who fought alongside the Pandava princes.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dava. One of the earliest was Dava Shastri, an Indian scholar and philosopher who lived in the 8th century CE. Shastri was renowned for his writings on Hindu philosophy and his commentaries on ancient texts.
In the 12th century, Dava Rai was a prominent ruler of the Chaulukya dynasty in the region of modern-day Gujarat, India. He is credited with expanding the kingdom's territories and patronizing the arts and architecture during his reign.
During the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, Dava Khan was a military commander and nobleman who served under Emperor Akbar. He was known for his bravery and leadership in several battles against the Afghan forces.
In more recent history, Dava Gaskin was an American author and spiritual teacher who lived from 1944 to 2008. He founded the Farm, a influential counterculture community in Tennessee, and wrote several books on spirituality and sustainable living.
Another notable figure was Dava Sobel, an American writer and former science writer for The New York Times. Born in 1947, Sobel is best known for her popular science books, including "Longitude" and "Galileo's Daughter," which explore the lives and works of famous scientists and astronomers.
While the name Dava has its origins in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu culture, it has transcended its linguistic and geographic boundaries to become a name used in various parts of the world, though still relatively uncommon. Its connection to fire, light, and spirituality has imbued it with a sense of warmth and enlightenment throughout its long and fascinating history.
People
Dava + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dava 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
Dava: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dava?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,242 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dava 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 275,970 US residents.
Is Dava a common name?
We classify Dava as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,482 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dava most popular?
The single biggest year for Dava was 1954, when 50 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dava is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dava in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,290 people with the name Dava, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,377 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 Dava 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 Dava?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dava leans strongly female. 1,250 people counted with this name were female (96.9%), compared with 40 male bearers (3.1%). 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 Dava?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dava is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Dava most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dava in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.5% (1,000 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 Dava in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dava a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dava 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 Dava still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dava 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 Dava 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 Dava?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.