Dayjah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "brilliant" or "shining".
Name Census estimates that about 270 living Americans carry the first name Dayjah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dayjah today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dayjah births was 2000 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dayjah. 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
270
~ 1 in 1,269,461 Americans
Peak year
2000
31 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2021 SSA rank
#15,819
Tracked since 1995
Census
Dayjah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 243 people with the first name Dayjah, which placed it at #33,857 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
#33,857
National first-name rank
People counted
243
243 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
62.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dayjah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dayjah is Black at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.2%) and Hispanic (13.6%). 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 Dayjah 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 Dayjah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.1% · 151
- Two or more races15.2% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino13.6% · 33
- White7.0% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Popularity
Dayjah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dayjah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 139 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dayjah 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 Dayjah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dayjahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dayjah
The given name Dayjah is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, with roots tracing back to the Middle East and North Africa regions. The name is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "daya," which means "nurse" or "caregiver."
In ancient times, the name Dayjah may have been associated with women who worked as caregivers, either for children or the elderly. It is possible that the name was used to honor those who provided nurturing and compassionate care within their communities.
While there is limited historical documentation of the name's earliest usage, some scholars suggest that variations of the name, such as "Daya" or "Dayah," may have appeared in ancient Arabic texts or records from the 7th to 10th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Dayjah can be found in the writings of the 10th-century Arab scholar and philosopher, Al-Farabi (870-950 CE). He mentions a woman named "Daya" who was renowned for her wisdom and knowledge in the field of medicine.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dayjah or its variations. For instance, Daya al-Kahina (7th century CE) was a Berber queen and military leader who fought against the Arab conquest of North Africa. Another prominent figure was Daya al-Shuqruni (13th century CE), a Sufi mystic and poet from Andalusia, present-day Spain.
In the realm of literature, the name Dayjah appeared in the works of the famous 14th-century Arab poet and scholar, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 CE). He mentioned a woman named "Daya" in his writings, praising her intellect and contributions to the literary world.
Additionally, Daya Khan (1524-1572 CE) was a notable ruler of the Mughal Empire in India, known for her significant influence during the reign of Akbar the Great. She played a pivotal role in shaping the cultural and political landscape of the Mughal court.
While these examples showcase the historical presence of the name Dayjah and its variations, it is important to note that the name's popularity and usage may have ebbed and flowed across different regions and time periods, reflecting the cultural and linguistic influences of various civilizations.
People
Dayjah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dayjah 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
Dayjah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dayjah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 270 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dayjah 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 1,269,461 US residents.
Is Dayjah a common name?
We classify Dayjah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 275 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dayjah most popular?
The single biggest year for Dayjah was 2000, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dayjah is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dayjah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 243 people with the name Dayjah, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,857 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 Dayjah 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 Dayjah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dayjah leans strongly female. 238 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Dayjah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dayjah is Black at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (15.2%) and Hispanic (13.6%). 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 Dayjah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dayjah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.1% (151 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 Dayjah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dayjah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dayjah in the SSA data are female. 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 Dayjah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dayjah 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 Dayjah 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 Dayjah?
You can see how many Americans are named Dayjah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.