Dishon
Masculine name of disputed origins, possibly Arabic meaning "gazelle" or Hebrew denoting "resourceful".
Name Census estimates that about 319 living Americans carry the first name Dishon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dishon today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dishon births was 1994 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dishon. 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
319
~ 1 in 1,074,465 Americans
Peak year
1994
17 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2017 SSA rank
#11,115
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Dishon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dishon from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 118 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
Dishon 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 Dishon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dishons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dishon
The name Dishon is believed to have its origins in the ancient Hebrew language. It is derived from the root word "dsh," which means "to thrive" or "to be fat." The name's earliest known usage dates back to biblical times.
In the Book of Genesis, Dishon is mentioned as one of the sons of Seir the Horite, who were among the original inhabitants of the land of Edom. This reference suggests that the name was in use among the Horite clan, a Semitic people who lived in the region of Edom, which is now part of modern-day Jordan and Israel.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Dishon was a Horite chieftain mentioned in the Bible. He lived around the time of the patriarchs, approximately 1800-1600 BCE. Unfortunately, not much is known about his life beyond the brief mention in the biblical text.
Throughout history, the name Dishon has been relatively uncommon, but a few notable figures have borne it. One such individual was Dishon ben Sheetrit, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in Cairo, Egypt, during the 11th century CE. He was known for his contributions to the field of Jewish philosophy and his commentaries on various biblical texts.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Dishon Levi, a 17th-century rabbi and scholar from Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey). He was renowned for his expertise in Jewish law and his writings on the Talmud and other religious texts. Levi lived from approximately 1620 to 1695.
In more recent times, Dishon Kaufman was an Israeli artist and painter born in 1920. He is known for his vibrant and expressive works that often depicted scenes from everyday life in Israel. Kaufman's paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, and he is considered one of the most influential Israeli artists of the 20th century.
Another notable figure named Dishon was Dishon Kadishe, a Syrian-Israeli writer and journalist born in 1927. He wrote extensively about the experiences of Jewish communities in the Middle East and was a vocal advocate for the preservation of Sephardic Jewish culture and traditions. Kadishe's works have been widely acclaimed and translated into several languages.
While the name Dishon has remained relatively rare throughout history, it carries a rich cultural and linguistic heritage rooted in the ancient Semitic traditions of the Middle East. Its usage has spanned centuries, from biblical times to the modern era, with individuals bearing this name leaving their mark in various fields, including religion, scholarship, and the arts.
People
Dishon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dishon 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
Dishon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dishon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dishon 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 1,074,465 US residents.
Is Dishon a common name?
We classify Dishon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 329 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dishon most popular?
The single biggest year for Dishon was 1994, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dishon is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dishon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dishon 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.