Dhaval
A masculine Hindu name meaning "bearer of wealth" or "prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Dhaval. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dhaval today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dhaval births was 1995 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dhaval. 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 Dhaval. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1995
13 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2001 SSA rank
#11,021
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Dhaval: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dhaval from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 62 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dhaval 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 Dhaval 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 Dhaval
The name Dhaval is of Sanskrit origin and is derived from the word "dhavala," which means "bright" or "resplendent." This name has been popular in India for centuries, particularly in the western regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dhaval dates back to ancient Hindu scriptures and texts, where it was often used to describe deities or celestial beings associated with light and radiance. In the Mahabharata, one of the longest epic poems in the world, there is a reference to a character named Dhavalaksha, which means "bright-eyed."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dhaval. One of the earliest recorded examples is Dhaval Panth, a 12th-century poet and philosopher from Gujarat, known for his works exploring spirituality and devotion. Another prominent figure was Dhaval Sheth, a 16th-century merchant and philanthropist from Surat, Gujarat, who contributed significantly to the development of trade and commerce in the region.
In the 19th century, Dhaval Bahadur Singh was a prominent leader and freedom fighter from Rajasthan who played a crucial role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against British colonial rule. Dhaval Kulkarni, born in 1936, was a celebrated Indian classical musician and composer known for his contributions to the Hindustani classical music tradition.
More recently, Dhaval Chand Mehta, born in 1923, was a prominent Indian physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the fields of nuclear physics and astrophysics. He served as the Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, for his pioneering work.
The name Dhaval continues to be popular among Indian families, particularly those with roots in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and is often chosen for its positive connotations of brightness, radiance, and auspiciousness.
People
Dhaval + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dhaval 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
Dhaval: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dhaval?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dhaval 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Dhaval a common name?
We classify Dhaval as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 94 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dhaval most popular?
The single biggest year for Dhaval was 1995, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dhaval is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dhaval a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dhaval 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.