Dowd
A masculine name of Celtic origin meaning "dark" or "swarthy".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Dowd. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dowd today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dowd births was 1926 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dowd. 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 Dowd. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1926
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1926 SSA rank
#3,828
Tracked since 1926
Popularity
Dowd: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dowd 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 Dowd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dowd
The name Dowd is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Dubhda, which means "descendant of Dubhda." The name Dubhda is derived from the Old Irish word "dubh," meaning "black" or "dark." The name likely originated in the early medieval period in Ireland, possibly as a descriptive nickname for someone with dark hair or complexion.
The earliest recorded use of the name Dowd dates back to the 12th century in Ireland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Diarmaid Ó Dubhda, a 12th-century Irish king and chieftain of the Uí Fiachrach Aidne dynasty in County Galway.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The entry mentions a man named Donatus Ó Dubhda, who was involved in a conflict in County Sligo in 1349.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Dowd became more widespread in Ireland, particularly in the provinces of Connacht and Munster. Many Dowd families were prominent landowners and played significant roles in Irish history during this period.
One notable figure was Edmond Dowd (c. 1540-1612), an Irish Catholic priest and soldier who fought against English forces during the Nine Years' War (1593-1603). He was known for his bravery and leadership in defending the town of Ballyshannon in County Donegal.
Another historical figure was Dermot Dowd (c. 1610-1660), an Irish lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s.
In the 18th century, the name Dowd gained recognition outside of Ireland. James Dowd (1750-1819) was an American Revolutionary War soldier and later a prominent landowner in Virginia.
In the 19th century, John Dowd (1815-1888) was an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the 29th Mayor of New York City from 1869 to 1870.
Other notable figures include Thomas Dowd (1855-1918), an Australian politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, and William Dowd (1875-1941), an American baseball player who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in the early 20th century.
People
Dowd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dowd 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
Dowd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dowd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dowd 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 - US residents.
Is Dowd a common name?
We classify Dowd as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dowd most popular?
The single biggest year for Dowd was 1926, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dowd is about 0 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 Dowd in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dowd a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dowd 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 Dowd still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dowd 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 Dowd 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 Dowd?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.