Dawon
A masculine Korean name meaning "bright, bright one".
Name Census estimates that about 535 living Americans carry the first name Dawon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dawon today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dawon births was 1990 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dawon. 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
535
~ 1 in 640,662 Americans
Peak year
1990
24 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,592
Tracked since 1971
Census
Dawon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 489 people with the first name Dawon, which placed it at #20,938 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
#20,938
National first-name rank
People counted
489
489 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
74.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dawon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawon is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%) and White (5.3%). 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 Dawon 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 Dawon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American74.2% · 363
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.3% · 60
- White5.3% · 26
- Two or more races5.3% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Dawon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dawon from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 156 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
Dawon 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 Dawon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dawons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dawon
The name Dawon has its origins in the Korean language, deriving from the combination of the words "da" meaning "big" or "great" and "won" which translates to "source" or "origin." Historically, it emerged as a name during the Goryeo dynasty in Korea, which ruled from 918 to 1392 CE.
In ancient Korean texts and historical records, the name Dawon was often associated with individuals of great importance or those who held positions of power and influence within the royal court or government. The name's connotation of "great origin" was seen as a fitting moniker for those born into nobility or those who achieved significant accomplishments.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Dawon can be found in the Annals of the Goryeo Dynasty, a historical text that chronicles the events and figures of that era. The text mentions a prominent scholar and poet named Dawon Kim (1070-1116), who was renowned for his literary works and contributions to the development of Korean literature.
Another notable figure bearing the name Dawon was a high-ranking military commander named Dawon Shin (1345-1418), who played a crucial role in defending the Korean peninsula against Japanese invasions during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. His bravery and strategic leadership earned him a place in Korean history as a revered military hero.
In the realm of religion, the name Dawon was also associated with Buddhist monks and scholars. One such figure was Dawon Gihwa (1376-1453), a renowned Zen Buddhist master and calligrapher who gained recognition for his contributions to the spread of Zen Buddhism in Korea during the Joseon Dynasty.
Moving forward in history, the name Dawon continued to be bestowed upon individuals of significance and achievements. One example is Dawon Park (1637-1692), a renowned Confucian scholar and philosopher who was highly regarded for his interpretations of Confucian teachings and his writings on moral philosophy.
Lastly, Dawon Lee (1890-1965) was a prominent figure in the Korean independence movement against Japanese colonial rule in the early 20th century. He played a pivotal role in advocating for Korea's sovereignty and promoting Korean nationalism through his writings and activism.
People
Dawon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawon 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
Dawon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 535 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dawon 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 640,662 US residents.
Is Dawon a common name?
We classify Dawon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 552 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dawon most popular?
The single biggest year for Dawon was 1990, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dawon is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dawon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 489 people with the name Dawon, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,938 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 Dawon 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 Dawon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dawon leans strongly male. 433 people counted with this name were male (88.0%), compared with 59 female bearers (12.0%). 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 Dawon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawon is Black at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.3%) and White (5.3%). 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 Dawon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dawon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (363 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 Dawon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dawon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dawon 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 Dawon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dawon 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 Dawon 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 Dawon?
You can see how many people share the name Dawon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.