Dawkins
An English name thought to derive from the Old English "dew" and "king".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Dawkins. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dawkins today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dawkins births was 2017 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dawkins. 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 Dawkins. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2017
5 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,711
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Dawkins: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dawkins 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 Dawkins during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dawkins
The name Dawkins is believed to have originated from the Old English language, deriving from the combination of two words: "daw" meaning a jackdaw or small crow, and "kin" signifying a small or diminutive form. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone with a resemblance to a small crow or perhaps someone with a dark complexion.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dawkins can be traced back to the 13th century in various parts of England, particularly in counties such as Yorkshire and Derbyshire. It is likely that the name was initially used as a descriptive nickname or surname before becoming an established given name.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dawkins was John Dawkins, a prominent English merchant and Member of Parliament who lived during the 15th century. He represented the city of Bristol in the House of Commons and was known for his involvement in the wool trade.
In the 16th century, Sir Thomas Dawkins (1515-1585) was a notable figure who served as the Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and played a role in the suppression of the English Reformation. He was a staunch Catholic and remained loyal to Queen Mary I during her reign.
Another historical figure with the name Dawkins was Henry Dawkins (1728-1814), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Pembroke College, Oxford. He was known for his contributions to the field of classical literature and his advocacy for educational reforms.
Moving into the 19th century, William Boyd Dawkins (1837-1929) was a prominent British geologist and archaeologist. He made significant contributions to the study of prehistoric human remains and was one of the pioneers in the field of paleontology.
In more recent times, one of the most renowned individuals with the name Dawkins is Richard Dawkins (born 1941), the English evolutionary biologist, author, and renowned advocate of scientific education and atheism. His works, such as "The Selfish Gene" and "The God Delusion," have had a profound impact on the public understanding of evolutionary theory and the debate surrounding religion and science.
People
Dawkins + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawkins 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
Dawkins: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawkins?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dawkins 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Dawkins a common name?
We classify Dawkins as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dawkins most popular?
The single biggest year for Dawkins was 2017, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dawkins is about 9 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 Dawkins in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dawkins a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dawkins 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 Dawkins still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dawkins 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 Dawkins 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 have Dawkins as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Dawkins, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.