Dawn
Dawn was given to 85 girls in 2025, #2,174 among girls’ names; 290,680 Americans have been recorded with it since 1888 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 254,000 Americans named Dawn and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (87% of everyone recorded); the median is 57 years old and half are between 52 and 63.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Dawn by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Dawn mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Dawn is “a female given name from English, sometimes given to a girl born at dawn.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Dawn?
#2,174 among girls’ names, 2025
Dawn fell from #1,999 in 2015 to #2,174 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 55.5 to 52.9 per million.
15,724 babies in 1970, the peak
Dawn peaked in 1970, when 15,724 babies were given it (15,681 girls, #16 among girls’ names). The 85 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 85 | #2,174 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 108 | #1,857 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 78 | #2,340 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 100 | #1,964 | 0.06 |
| 2021 | 96 | #2,011 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 83 | #2,176 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 86 | #2,160 | 0.05 |
| 2018 | 100 | #1,969 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 105 | #1,918 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 85 | #2,252 | 0.05 |
Every recorded year (126)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 99 | #1,999 | 0.06 |
| 2014 | 94 | #2,074 | 0.05 |
| 2013 | 78 | #2,350 | 0.04 |
| 2012 | 90 | #2,118 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 94 | #2,059 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 92 | #2,138 | 0.05 |
| 2009 | 113 | #1,868 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 114 | #1,867 | 0.06 |
| 2007 | 122 | #1,762 | 0.06 |
| 2006 | 130 | #1,630 | 0.07 |
| 2005 | 125 | #1,615 | 0.07 |
| 2004 | 157 | #1,351 | 0.09 |
| 2003 | 200 | #1,100 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 197 | #1,078 | 0.11 |
| 2001 | 179 | #1,161 | 0.10 |
| 2000 | 240 | #909 | 0.13 |
| 1999 | 231 | #913 | 0.13 |
| 1998 | 264 | #806 | 0.15 |
| 1997 | 318 | #681 | 0.18 |
| 1996 | 260 | #795 | 0.15 |
| 1995 | 319 | #668 | 0.18 |
| 1994 | 391 | #583 | 0.22 |
| 1993 | 497 | #498 | 0.27 |
| 1992 | 613 | #412 | 0.33 |
| 1991 | 669 | #385 | 0.36 |
| 1990 | 740 | #361 | 0.39 |
| 1989 | 857 | #306 | 0.46 |
| 1988 | 1,061 | #248 | 0.60 |
| 1987 | 1,154 | #231 | 0.66 |
| 1986 | 1,452 | #184 | 0.85 |
| 1985 | 1,730 | #165 | 1.0 |
| 1984 | 2,105 | #142 | 1.3 |
| 1983 | 2,641 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1982 | 3,088 | #95 | 1.8 |
| 1981 | 3,839 | #79 | 2.3 |
| 1980 | 4,479 | #67 | 2.7 |
| 1979 | 4,725 | #57 | 2.9 |
| 1978 | 5,217 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1977 | 6,096 | #43 | 4.0 |
| 1976 | 7,048 | #35 | 4.8 |
| 1975 | 8,744 | #23 | 6.0 |
| 1974 | 9,417 | #22 | 6.4 |
| 1973 | 9,890 | #21 | 6.8 |
| 1972 | 11,340 | #20 | 7.5 |
| 1971 | 14,288 | #14 | 8.6 |
| 1970 | 15,681 | #16 | 9.0 |
| 1969 | 13,768 | #21 | 8.2 |
| 1968 | 13,441 | #21 | 8.2 |
| 1967 | 13,167 | #27 | 8.0 |
| 1966 | 13,603 | #24 | 8.0 |
| 1965 | 13,344 | #26 | 7.6 |
| 1964 | 12,613 | #33 | 6.7 |
| 1963 | 8,412 | #52 | 4.4 |
| 1962 | 8,984 | #50 | 4.6 |
| 1961 | 9,148 | #49 | 4.5 |
| 1960 | 7,813 | #57 | 3.9 |
| 1959 | 7,898 | #54 | 3.9 |
| 1958 | 5,674 | #84 | 2.8 |
| 1957 | 5,159 | #93 | 2.5 |
| 1956 | 5,128 | #92 | 2.6 |
| 1955 | 4,216 | #103 | 2.2 |
| 1954 | 3,356 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1953 | 2,640 | #138 | 1.4 |
| 1952 | 1,884 | #166 | 1.0 |
| 1951 | 1,533 | #188 | 0.85 |
| 1950 | 1,411 | #191 | 0.82 |
| 1949 | 1,285 | #209 | 0.75 |
| 1948 | 1,241 | #208 | 0.73 |
| 1947 | 1,269 | #208 | 0.72 |
| 1946 | 1,040 | #223 | 0.66 |
| 1945 | 745 | #246 | 0.57 |
| 1944 | 654 | #268 | 0.49 |
| 1943 | 765 | #253 | 0.55 |
| 1942 | 675 | #266 | 0.50 |
| 1941 | 530 | #278 | 0.44 |
| 1940 | 427 | #303 | 0.37 |
| 1939 | 468 | #288 | 0.43 |
| 1938 | 471 | #288 | 0.43 |
| 1937 | 457 | #288 | 0.43 |
| 1936 | 512 | #268 | 0.49 |
| 1935 | 398 | #311 | 0.38 |
| 1934 | 288 | #372 | 0.28 |
| 1933 | 307 | #359 | 0.30 |
| 1932 | 319 | #356 | 0.30 |
| 1931 | 291 | #379 | 0.27 |
| 1930 | 221 | #453 | 0.20 |
| 1929 | 223 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1928 | 188 | #503 | 0.16 |
| 1927 | 194 | #502 | 0.16 |
| 1926 | 175 | #528 | 0.15 |
| 1925 | 130 | #639 | 0.11 |
| 1924 | 141 | #633 | 0.11 |
| 1923 | 131 | #644 | 0.11 |
| 1922 | 104 | #713 | 0.09 |
| 1921 | 94 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 84 | #787 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 63 | #884 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 49 | #1,035 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 54 | #946 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 57 | #894 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 58 | #856 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 30 | #1,103 | 0.04 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,694 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 17 | #1,317 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 8 | #1,820 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,808 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,572 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 6 | #1,879 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,785 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 5 | #2,005 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 5 | #1,951 | 0.02 |
| 1896 | 7 | #1,320 | 0.03 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,538 | 0.02 |
| 1892 | 7 | #1,196 | 0.03 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,120 | 0.04 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,330 | 0.03 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Dawn a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Dawn has been given almost only to girls: 1,039 boys in 126 years of records.
Girls and boys named Dawn: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Dawn, and how old are they?
254,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 87% of the 290,680 Americans ever recorded as Dawn. The median Dawn alive today is 57 years old; half are between 52 and 63.
The 2020 Census counted 252,273 people named Dawn (251,599 women and girls, 674 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 263,888 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,880 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 74,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 152,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 20,800 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,630 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,200 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Dawn born?
The states with the most babies named Dawn are New York, Michigan and Illinois, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 30,094 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 21,656 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Illinois | 21,121 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| California | 20,837 | #2,324 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 19,318 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 16,899 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 13,430 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Wisconsin | 12,065 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Indiana | 9,715 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Minnesota | 8,532 | not ranked | 1.4× |
Where Dawn is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Dawn is most over-represented in Wisconsin: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Dawn with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 290,977 babies since 1880, Dawn is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 85 of their 85 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Dawn
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Dawn and names like it
- Compare Dawn and DawnnBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sDawn peaked in 1970.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Dawn since 1910.
- English namesWiktionary’s origin for Dawn: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1970The year the most babies were named Dawn.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Dawn alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with DMost given first.