Dayon
A masculine name of Indian origin meaning "compassion" or "mercifulness".
Name Census estimates that about 735 living Americans carry the first name Dayon. It is a predominantly male name (98.5% of registrations). The average person named Dayon today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dayon births was 2000 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dayon. 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
735
~ 1 in 466,332 Americans
Peak year
2000
43 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,327
Tracked since 1975
Census
Dayon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 606 people with the first name Dayon, which placed it at #17,943 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
#17,943
National first-name rank
People counted
606
606 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dayon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dayon is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Dayon 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 Dayon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.9% · 484
- White7.9% · 48
- Two or more races4.6% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Dayon
Dayon leans heavily male at 98.5% of total registrations, but 11 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dayon as a male name
- Ranked #7,327 in 2024
- 11 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (43 births)
Dayon as a female name
- Ranked #15,950 in 2001
- 5 female births in 2001
- Peak: 1979 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dayon leans strongly male. 540 people counted with this name were male (89.4%), compared with 64 female bearers (10.6%).
Popularity
Dayon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dayon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 290 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
Dayon 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 Dayon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dayons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Dayon, while Virginia, California, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dayon
The name Dayon has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India. It is derived from the word "daya," meaning compassion, kindness, and mercy. This name first appeared in Hindu scriptures and texts during the Vedic period, which lasted from approximately 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dayon can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic poem composed around the 8th century BCE. In this epic, Dayon was the name of a wise sage known for his benevolence and teachings on the virtues of compassion.
During the Gupta Empire, which ruled over parts of modern-day India between the 4th and 6th centuries CE, the name Dayon gained popularity among the ruling class and nobility. One notable figure from this era was Dayon Gupta, a renowned scholar and philosopher who wrote extensively on the principles of dharma (moral duty) and the attainment of spiritual enlightenment.
In the 12th century, a Sufi mystic and poet named Dayon al-Din Rumi, born in present-day Afghanistan, gained immense fame for his works on divine love and the unity of all religions. His poetic masterpiece, the Masnavi, is considered one of the greatest works of Persian literature and has had a profound influence on Islamic spirituality.
During the Mughal Empire, which ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th to the 19th century, the name Dayon was often bestowed upon members of the royal family and aristocracy. One such individual was Dayon Khan, a prominent military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Akbar and played a crucial role in the conquest of Bengal in the late 16th century.
In more recent times, the name Dayon has been associated with several notable figures, including Dayon Somadder, an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary who actively participated in the struggle against British colonial rule in the early 20th century.
While the name Dayon has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has also been embraced by various cultures and communities across the world, transcending linguistic and religious boundaries. The name's association with compassion and kindness has resonated with people from diverse backgrounds, making it a timeless and meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with deep spiritual and ethical connotations.
People
Dayon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dayon 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
Dayon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dayon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 735 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dayon 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 466,332 US residents.
Is Dayon a common name?
We classify Dayon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 750 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dayon most popular?
The single biggest year for Dayon was 2000, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dayon is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dayon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 606 people with the name Dayon, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,943 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 Dayon 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 Dayon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dayon leans strongly male. 540 people counted with this name were male (89.4%), compared with 64 female bearers (10.6%). 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 Dayon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dayon is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Dayon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dayon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (484 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 Dayon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dayon a male name?
Yes, 98.5% of people registered as Dayon 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 Dayon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dayon 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 Dayon 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 have the name Dayon?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Dayon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.