Dawood
A masculine given name of Arabic origin meaning "beloved."
Name Census estimates that about 332 living Americans carry the first name Dawood. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dawood today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dawood births was 2023 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dawood. 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
332
~ 1 in 1,032,393 Americans
Peak year
2023
27 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,909
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Dawood: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dawood from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 148 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dawood remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dawood 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 Dawood during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dawoods live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dawood
The name Dawood is an Arabic name derived from the Hebrew name David, which means "beloved" or "friend." It traces its origins to the Biblical figure of King David, a prominent figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The name has been in use for thousands of years and has had various spellings and pronunciations across different cultures and languages.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, David was a shepherd who became the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah. He is revered as a prophet in Islam and is mentioned in the Quran as a righteous king and warrior who fought against the enemies of God. The Quran also refers to him as Dawood, which is the Arabic version of his name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dawood can be found in the Quran, where it is mentioned several times. The name has been popular among Muslims since the advent of Islam in the 7th century AD.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Dawood. One of the most famous was Dawood Khan, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India, who ruled from 1526 to 1530. Another notable figure was Dawood Pasha, an Ottoman governor and military commander who lived in the 16th century.
In the modern era, Dawood has been a popular name in various parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. Some notable individuals with this name include Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian crime boss and the former leader of the D-Company criminal organization; Dawood Khan, a Pakistani cricketer who played in the 1970s and 1980s; and Dawood Khan Mehmood Khelji, a former Prime Minister of Pakistan in the 1960s.
Other historical figures with the name Dawood include Dawood Al-Jalili, an Islamic scholar and mathematician from the 11th century; Dawood Khan Karrani, the ruler of the Bengal Sultanate in the 16th century; and Dawood Anari, a famous Persian poet and mystic from the 14th century.
The name Dawood has a rich historical and cultural significance, tracing its roots back to ancient times and spanning various religions and cultures. Its enduring popularity over the centuries is a testament to its timeless appeal and the reverence for the Biblical figure from whom it derives its meaning.
People
Dawood + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawood 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
Dawood: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawood?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 332 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dawood 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 1,032,393 US residents.
Is Dawood a common name?
We classify Dawood as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 335 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dawood most popular?
The single biggest year for Dawood was 2023, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dawood is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dawood a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dawood 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.
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.