Dana Williams
There are approximately 1,088 people named Dana Williams living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 315,032 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Dana with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Williams. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1,088
1 in 315,032
Named Dana
208K
Alive today
Named Williams
1.8M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 208K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1971
Average age: 51
Top Census group: White (80.3%)
Estimated bearers: 1.8M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #3
Per 100K: 522.38
Top ancestry: Black (46.2%)
First name trend
Dana: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Dana. The peak year was 1971 with 8,032 births. The average person named Dana today is 51 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dana
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Dana, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 80.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dana described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Dana at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White80.3% · 169,129
- Black or African American9.0% · 18,999
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 10,785
- Two or more races3.1% · 6,497
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 3,611
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,564
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Williams surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Williams, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Black at 46.2%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Williams described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Williams at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Black or African American46.2% · 721,683
- White43.8% · 684,271
- Two or more races5.1% · 79,393
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 54,634
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 12,205
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 9,209
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Dana has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0608% of the US population, based on 208,280 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Dana right now.
The surname Williams appears at a rate of 522.38 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.5224%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1,088 people with the full name Dana Williams. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Dana
Related
Other people with the surname Williams
FAQ
Dana Williams: questions and answers
How many people are named Dana Williams?
We estimate approximately 1,088 people in the United States share the full name Dana Williams. That works out to about 1 in 315,032 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0608%) with the surname frequency (522.38 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Dana Williams?
We classify Dana Williams as "Rare". About 1 in 315,032 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Dana a male or female name?
Dana is predominantly unisex. Out of 246,572 total SSA registrations, 21.6% were male and 78.4% were female. See the full Dana profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Dana Williams?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Dana Williams at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.