Ladawn
A feminine name of uncertain etymology, potentially a blend of "Lada" and "Dawn".
Name Census estimates that about 1,353 living Americans carry the first name Ladawn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ladawn today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ladawn births was 1971 (80 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ladawn. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 253,329 Americans
Peak year
1971
80 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2014 SSA rank
#18,007
Tracked since 1936
Popularity
Ladawn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ladawn from the 1930s through to the 2010s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 573 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ladawn 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 Ladawn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ladawns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Utah, Michigan, California recorded the most babies named Ladawn, while Virginia, Missouri, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ladawn
The given name Ladawn is a modern English name with no clear etymological origin or historical precedent. It appears to be a relatively recent coinage, likely a combination of the prefix "la-" and the word "dawn," potentially intended to convey a sense of newness or a fresh start.
Despite its lack of a well-documented historical lineage, there have been a few notable individuals who have borne this name throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances is Ladawn Gentry, an American businesswoman who founded the Ladawn Gentry Cosmetics line in the 1940s.
Another notable bearer of this name was Ladawn M. Nance, a former member of the Texas House of Representatives who served from 1993 to 2003. During her tenure, she advocated for various educational and healthcare initiatives within the state.
In the realm of sports, Ladawn Mays was a professional basketball player who competed in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) during the late 1990s and early 2000s. She played for several teams, including the Detroit Shock and the Houston Comets.
The name Ladawn has also been found in the literary world, with Ladawn Best being an American author and poet who has published several collections of poetry and short stories, including "Voices from the Garden" and "Whispers from the Heart."
Lastly, Ladawn Freitag is a contemporary American artist known for her vibrant abstract paintings and mixed media works. Her artwork has been exhibited in various galleries across the United States, and she has received recognition for her unique style and creative expression.
While the name Ladawn may lack the deep historical roots of many other given names, its modern usage and association with notable individuals in various fields suggest that it has carved out a unique place in contemporary nomenclature.
People
Ladawn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ladawn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ladawn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ladawn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,353 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ladawn 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 253,329 US residents.
Is Ladawn a common name?
We classify Ladawn as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,568 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ladawn most popular?
The single biggest year for Ladawn was 1971, when 80 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ladawn is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ladawn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ladawn in the SSA data are female. 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.