Dayman
A modern name derived from the word "day", potentially representing brightness or light.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Dayman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dayman today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dayman births was 1976 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dayman. 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 Dayman. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1976
5 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2005 SSA rank
#11,858
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Dayman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dayman from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dayman 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 Dayman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dayman
The name Dayman has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages dating back to around 3500 BC. It is derived from the words "da," meaning "eternal," and "man," meaning "human." The name's roots can be traced to the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, located in present-day Iraq, which was a major cultural and religious center of the ancient world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dayman can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumerian epic poem considered one of the earliest works of literature. In the epic, Dayman is mentioned as a wise sage who advises the protagonist, Gilgamesh, on his quest for immortality. This reference suggests that the name was associated with wisdom and longevity in ancient Sumerian culture.
During the Babylonian era, which followed the decline of the Sumerians, the name Dayman continued to be used, though its meaning may have evolved. In the Babylonian creation myth, the Enuma Elish, the name is mentioned in connection with the god Marduk, who was revered as the patron deity of Babylon.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dayman. One of the earliest recorded was Dayman of Ephesus (c. 500 BC), a Greek philosopher who was a contemporary of Heraclitus and Pythagoras. His teachings, though largely lost, were said to have influenced the development of early Greek philosophy.
Another significant figure was Dayman the Poet (c. 300 AD), a renowned lyricist and musician from the ancient kingdom of Palmyra, located in modern-day Syria. His poetic works, which celebrated love and the beauty of nature, were widely admired throughout the classical world.
During the Middle Ages, the name Dayman was associated with several prominent scholars and religious figures. One notable example is Dayman ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (c. 720-809 AD), a Persian scholar and translator who played a crucial role in the transmission of ancient Greek knowledge to the Islamic world.
In the Renaissance period, Dayman Gianfrancesco (1446-1505), an Italian humanist and philosopher, was known for his contributions to the study of classical literature and his efforts to revive the teachings of ancient Greek and Roman thinkers.
Another significant figure bearing the name was Dayman al-Ghazali (c. 1058-1111 AD), a renowned Persian philosopher, theologian, and mystic whose works had a profound impact on the development of Islamic thought and spirituality.
People
Dayman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dayman 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
Dayman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dayman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dayman 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Dayman a common name?
We classify Dayman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dayman most popular?
The single biggest year for Dayman was 1976, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dayman is about 34 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 Dayman in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dayman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dayman 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 Dayman still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dayman 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 Dayman 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 Americans are named Dayman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.