How Many People Are Named Dawn?
An estimated 239,465 people in the United States have the first name Dawn. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #217 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 57 years old, and Dawn peaked in popularity in 1970 with 15,724 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Dawn as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Dawn paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Dawn is overwhelmingly female, 1,040 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Dawn has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
239,465
About 1 in 1,431 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
57
years old
Peak Year
1970
15,724 births
Total Registered
290,592
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Dawn
Dawn is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 290,592 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Dawn as a male name
Ranked #11,209 in 2024
6 male births in 2024
Peak: 1975 (54 births)
Dawn as a female name
Ranked #1,850 in 2024
108 female births in 2024
Peak: 1970 (15,681 births)
Dawn: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Dawn span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 114,606 babies were registered. Dawn has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Dawn by Decade
How has Dawn tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 | 0 | 5 | |
| 1890s | 26 | 0 | 26 | |
| 1900s | 30 | 0 | 30 | |
| 1910s | 357 | 0 | 357 | |
| 1920s | 1,491 | 27 | 1,464 | |
| 1930s | 3,776 | 44 | 3,732 | |
| 1940s | 8,669 | 38 | 8,631 | |
| 1950s | 39,011 | 112 | 38,899 | |
| 1960s | 114,606 | 314 | 114,292 | |
| 1970s | 92,798 | 353 | 92,445 | |
| 1980s | 22,520 | 114 | 22,406 | |
| 1990s | 4,335 | 32 | 4,303 | |
| 2000s | 1,576 | 0 | 1,576 | |
| 2010s | 921 | 0 | 921 | |
| 2020s | 471 | 6 | 465 | |
Dawn by State
Birth registrations for Dawn span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Michigan, Illinois. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont. On average, about 5,606 Dawns were registered per state.
Dawn + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Dawn
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Dawn: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawn?
We estimate approximately 239,465 people named Dawn are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,431 Americans share this first name.
Is Dawn a common name?
Dawn is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 290,592 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Dawn most popular?
Dawn reached peak popularity in 1970, when 15,724 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Dawn is approximately 57 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Dawn a female name?
Dawn is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Dawn Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Dawn Smith, Dawn Johnson, Dawn Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me