Dawn

Dawn: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “daybreak”
Origin: English
Say it: DAWN · 1 syllable
Used for: Girls

From the English vocabulary word for the first appearance of daylight. It became established as a given name in the modern English-speaking world.

English names Names meaning light Names meaning sun Names meaning nature Modern names Nature names

How popular is Dawn?

202434.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Dawn in 2024114

2024 rank#1,847 girls

Peak year1970

Total US babies since 1880290,592

Dawn is steady now but far below its 1970 peak.

Names like Dawn

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Dawnadaybreak · English
Oliviaolive tree · English
Evelyndesired; little bird · English
Harperharp player · English
Violetviolet flower · English
Hazelhazel tree · English
Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English
Lilylily flower · English

Dawn questions

What does the name Dawn mean?

Dawn means "daybreak". It comes from English. From the English vocabulary word for the first appearance of daylight. It became established as a given name in the modern English-speaking world.

Is Dawn a boy or girl name?

Dawn is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Dawn?

114 US babies were named Dawn in 2024. Its peak year was 1970.

How do you pronounce Dawn?

Dawn is usually pronounced DAWN.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.