Dawud
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 963 living Americans carry the first name Dawud. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dawud today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dawud births was 2023 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dawud. 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
963
~ 1 in 355,924 Americans
Peak year
2023
45 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,877
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Dawud: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dawud from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 231 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Dawud remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dawud 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 Dawud during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dawuds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Dawud, while Texas, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dawud
The name Dawud has its origins in the Arabic language and the Middle Eastern region. It is derived from the Semitic root word "D-W-D" which means "beloved" or "dear one". The name is closely associated with the prophet David in the Abrahamic faiths and is considered a variant of the Hebrew name "David".
In the Islamic tradition, Dawud is the Arabic name given to the prophet David, who is revered as a messenger of God and a wise ruler. The name is mentioned numerous times in the Quran, which recounts the life and teachings of Dawud. He is praised for his wisdom, courage, and devotion to God.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dawud can be traced back to ancient Semitic cultures in the Middle East. It appears in various forms in ancient inscriptions and texts, such as the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an. The name gained widespread popularity among Muslims and Jews, and it has been used across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe for centuries.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the name Dawud are:
1. Dawud al-Zahiri (858-909 CE), an influential Islamic scholar and jurist from Baghdad who founded the Zahiri school of Islamic jurisprudence.
2. Dawud Pasha (1599-1642), an Ottoman statesman and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan Murad IV.
3. Dawud Khan (1755-1819), a prominent military commander and ruler of the Barakzai dynasty in Afghanistan.
4. Dawud Beg Masud (1590-1659), a Kurdish historian and author who wrote extensively about the history of the Kurdish people.
5. Dawud al-Antaki (1599-1599), a renowned Syrian scholar and author who wrote on various topics, including Islamic theology and philosophy.
These individuals, spanning different eras and regions, contributed to various fields, including religion, politics, literature, and military affairs, and their legacies have helped to preserve and spread the name Dawud across generations.
People
Dawud + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawud 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
Dawud: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawud?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 963 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dawud 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 355,924 US residents.
Is Dawud a common name?
We classify Dawud as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 991 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dawud most popular?
The single biggest year for Dawud was 2023, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dawud is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dawud a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dawud 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.