Dashana
A feminine name of Hindu origin meaning "ten-eyed".
Name Census estimates that about 191 living Americans carry the first name Dashana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dashana today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dashana births was 1994 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dashana. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
191
~ 1 in 1,794,525 Americans
Peak year
1994
16 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2005 SSA rank
#14,948
Tracked since 1975
Census
Dashana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 204 people with the first name Dashana, which placed it at #37,948 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#37,948
National first-name rank
People counted
204
204 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dashana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dashana is Black at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dashana described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dashana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.8% · 171
- Two or more races6.9% · 14
- White4.9% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Dashana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dashana from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 116 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Dashana remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dashana by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dashana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dashana
The name Dashana has its origins rooted in ancient Sanskrit, the classical language of the Indian subcontinent. Dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE, it is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "dashana," which translates to "biting" or "chewing." This connection suggests that the name might have initially referred to individuals with prominent or distinctive teeth.
In the sacred Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, the name Dashana is mentioned in various contexts, often associated with deities or mythological figures. However, it is difficult to pinpoint specific historical references due to the vast array of literature and the diverse interpretations of these ancient writings.
The earliest recorded example of the name Dashana can be traced back to the 5th century CE, during the Gupta Empire in ancient India. Inscriptions and records from this period mention individuals bearing this name, indicating its usage among certain communities or social strata.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Dashana:
1. Dashana Rishi (c. 800 BCE – c. 700 BCE): A revered Hindu sage and scholar who is credited with authoring several philosophical treatises and contributing to the development of the Vedic tradition.
2. Dashana Devi (c. 1200 CE – c. 1280 CE): A renowned mystic and poet from the Bhakti movement in medieval India, known for her devotional compositions and spiritual teachings.
3. Dashana Pandit (1550 CE – 1620 CE): A celebrated Sanskrit scholar and grammarian from the Vijayanagar Empire, renowned for his commentaries on ancient texts and his contributions to the study of linguistics.
4. Dashana Singh (1670 CE – 1738 CE): A valiant warrior and military commander who played a crucial role in the defense of the Maratha Empire against the Mughal forces in the early 18th century.
5. Dashana Dutta (1825 CE – 1905 CE): A pioneering social reformer and educator from Bengal, who advocated for women's education and fought against regressive social practices prevalent during the British colonial era.
While the name Dashana has its roots in the ancient Sanskrit language and Hindu culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and found usage across various regions and communities over the centuries. Its enduring presence serves as a testament to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage and the timeless appeal of names steeped in historical significance.
People
Dashana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dashana as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dashana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dashana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 191 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dashana going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,794,525 US residents.
Is Dashana a common name?
We classify Dashana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 198 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dashana most popular?
The single biggest year for Dashana was 1994, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dashana is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dashana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 204 people with the name Dashana, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,948 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dashana in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dashana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dashana appears almost entirely female. Of the 202 people counted with this name, 99.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dashana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dashana is Black at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dashana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dashana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (171 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dashana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dashana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dashana in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dashana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dashana in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dashana can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Dashana?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.