Dawson Boy
How popular is Dawson?
#143 boy name in 2025
2,487 baby boys were named Dawson in the US in 2025, making it the 143rd most popular boy name. Another 81 girls got the name (#2,256 for girls).
Dawson popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #143 for boys (▼ 4 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 2,487 boys, 81 girls |
| 10-year trend | Rising fast (+56% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #238 in 2015, #197 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1999 (2,802 boys) |
| Highest rank | #136 in 1999 |
| First recorded | 1885 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 96% boys, 4% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 2% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Dawson counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Dawson family of names ranked #159 for boys in 2025 (#148 the year before), with 2,504 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Dawson | 2,487 | 99% |
| Dawsen | 17 | 1% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Dawson is most popular
Babies named Dawson per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- West Virginia: 5.4 per 1,000 (176 boys)
- Alaska: 4.5 per 1,000 (54 boys)
- South Dakota: 4.3 per 1,000 (80 boys)
- Montana: 4.1 per 1,000 (73 boys)
- North Dakota: 3.7 per 1,000 (64 boys)
Dawson by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 26 | #679 |
| 1890s | 19 | #765 |
| 1900s | 38 | #760 |
| 1910s | 220 | #924 |
| 1920s | 304 | #1,199 |
| 1930s | 231 | #1,141 |
| 1940s | 264 | #1,144 |
| 1950s | 233 | #1,294 |
| 1960s | 159 | #1,743 |
| 1970s | 211 | #1,439 |
| 1980s | 354 | #1,331 |
| 1990s | 5,750 | #136 |
| 2000s | 16,868 | #168 |
| 2010s | 14,803 | #194 |
| 2020s | 13,322 | #139 |
Boy names about as popular as Dawson
Questions
- Is Dawson a boy or girl name?
- Dawson is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 96% of babies named Dawson were boys.
- How popular is the name Dawson?
- 2,487 baby boys were named Dawson in the US in 2025, making it the 143rd most popular boy name. Another 81 girls got the name (#2,256 for girls).
- When was Dawson most popular?
- Dawson peaked in 1999, when 2,802 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #136 in 1999.
- How many people are named Dawson?
- 54,199 babies have been named Dawson in the US since 1880. We estimate about 52,580 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 14.
- Where is Dawson most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Dawson was most common in West Virginia, at 5.4 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.