Dawan
Derived from the Arabic language, meaning "moving clouds in the sky".
Name Census estimates that about 818 living Americans carry the first name Dawan. It is a predominantly male name (95.9% of registrations). The average person named Dawan today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dawan births was 1979 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dawan. 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
818
~ 1 in 419,015 Americans
Peak year
1979
40 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,329
Tracked since 1956
Census
Dawan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 655 people with the first name Dawan, which placed it at #17,018 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
#17,018
National first-name rank
People counted
655
655 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dawan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawan is Black at 82.9%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Dawan 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 Dawan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.9% · 543
- White5.6% · 37
- Two or more races4.9% · 32
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Dawan
Dawan leans heavily male at 95.9% of total registrations, but 35 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dawan as a male name
- Ranked #11,208 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1979 (35 births)
Dawan as a female name
- Ranked #6,329 in 1983
- 10 female births in 1983
- Peak: 1983 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dawan leans strongly male. 584 people counted with this name were male (88.4%), compared with 77 female bearers (11.6%).
Popularity
Dawan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dawan from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 215 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
Dawan 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 Dawan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dawans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New Jersey, Michigan, New York recorded the most babies named Dawan, while Ohio, New York, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dawan
The name Dawan is believed to have its origins in the ancient Phoenician civilization, which flourished in the region of modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Israel between the 16th and 6th centuries BCE. The name is derived from the Phoenician word "dawan," which means "dawn" or "sunrise."
Phoenicians were renowned navigators and traders, and it is possible that the name Dawan was brought to other parts of the world through their extensive maritime trade routes. The name may have been adopted by other cultures and languages, leading to variations in its spelling and pronunciation.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Dawan can be found in the ancient Phoenician inscriptions discovered in the region. However, there is little information available about specific individuals bearing this name during the Phoenician era.
In ancient Arabic literature, the name Dawan is mentioned in some poetic works, often associated with the beauty and radiance of the morning sun. This connection to the dawn and the symbolism of new beginnings may have contributed to the name's enduring popularity.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Dawan. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Dawan ibn Hamdan (born around 850 CE), a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad. He made significant contributions to the study of spherical geometry and the calculation of planetary movements.
Another noteworthy figure was Dawan al-Andalusi (born around 1020 CE), a Moorish philosopher and scholar from Andalusia (modern-day Spain). He was known for his works on logic, metaphysics, and ethics, and his writings influenced the development of Islamic philosophy in the region.
In the medieval period, Dawan al-Baghdadi (born around 1200 CE) was a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad. He wrote extensively on Islamic jurisprudence and was influential in shaping the interpretations of Islamic law during his time.
In the literary realm, Dawan al-Shushtari (born around 1280 CE) was a celebrated Persian poet known for his lyrical compositions and mastery of the ghazal form. His works were widely appreciated and have been preserved in various anthologies of Persian poetry.
More recently, Dawan Gazi (1907-1965) was a prominent political figure and freedom fighter from modern-day Bangladesh. He played a significant role in the movement for the independence of Bangladesh and served as a minister in the country's first government after independence.
While these are just a few examples, the name Dawan has been borne by individuals from various cultural and historical backgrounds, reflecting its enduring appeal and the diverse influences that have shaped its meaning and significance over time.
People
Dawan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawan 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
Dawan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 818 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dawan 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 419,015 US residents.
Is Dawan a common name?
We classify Dawan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 852 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dawan most popular?
The single biggest year for Dawan was 1979, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dawan 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 Dawan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 655 people with the name Dawan, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,018 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 Dawan 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 Dawan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dawan leans strongly male. 584 people counted with this name were male (88.4%), compared with 77 female bearers (11.6%). 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 Dawan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawan is Black at 82.9%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Dawan most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dawan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (543 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 Dawan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dawan a male name?
Yes, 95.9% of people registered as Dawan 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 Dawan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dawan 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 Dawan 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 called Dawan?
You can see how many people share the name Dawan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.