Dawanda
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly African.
Name Census estimates that about 225 living Americans carry the first name Dawanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dawanda today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dawanda births was 1972 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dawanda. 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
225
~ 1 in 1,523,353 Americans
Peak year
1972
16 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1997 SSA rank
#14,288
Tracked since 1962
Census
Dawanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 249 people with the first name Dawanda, which placed it at #33,298 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
#33,298
National first-name rank
People counted
249
249 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dawanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawanda is Black at 83.1%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Dawanda 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 Dawanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.1% · 207
- White13.7% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Popularity
Dawanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dawanda from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 115 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dawanda 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 Dawanda 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 Dawanda
The given name Dawanda is believed to have originated from the Bantu languages spoken in central and southern Africa. The earliest known records of this name date back to the 16th century, where it was commonly used among the Bakongo people of the Kingdom of Kongo, located in what is now Angola, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The name Dawanda is thought to be derived from the Kikongo word "wanda," which means "to love" or "to desire." This suggests that the name may have been given to children as a symbol of affection and parental love. In some regions, the name was also associated with the concept of beauty or attractiveness.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dawanda was a Kongo princess who lived in the late 16th century. Historical records mention her involvement in diplomatic negotiations with the Portuguese colonizers, but her exact dates of birth and death are unknown.
In the 18th century, a notable figure named Dawanda Ngola emerged as a prominent leader in the Ovimbundu community of present-day Angola. She was known for her wisdom and diplomatic skills in resolving conflicts between various tribes and communities. Unfortunately, the specific years of her life are not well documented.
During the 19th century, a Dawanda Kimbili was recorded as a respected healer and herbalist among the Luba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her knowledge of traditional medicine and healing practices was widely recognized, but her exact dates are unclear.
In the early 20th century, a woman named Dawanda Kasongo gained recognition as a skilled potter and ceramist in the Bemba region of modern-day Zambia. Her intricate pottery designs were highly valued, and she passed down her craftsmanship to subsequent generations. She lived from approximately 1890 to 1965.
Another notable Dawanda was a freedom fighter and activist during the struggle for independence in Angola. Dawanda Mbanza played a crucial role in mobilizing support for the liberation movement against Portuguese colonial rule in the mid-20th century. She was born around 1925 and lived until the early 2000s.
While the name Dawanda has its roots in central and southern Africa, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world due to cultural exchange and migration. However, its historical significance and connections to African cultures remain deeply rooted in its origin and meaning.
People
Dawanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawanda 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
Dawanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 225 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dawanda 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 1,523,353 US residents.
Is Dawanda a common name?
We classify Dawanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 249 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dawanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Dawanda was 1972, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dawanda is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dawanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 249 people with the name Dawanda, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,298 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 Dawanda 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 Dawanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dawanda leans strongly female. 249 people counted with this name were female (97.6%), compared with 6 male bearers (2.4%). 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 Dawanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawanda is Black at 83.1%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Dawanda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dawanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (207 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 Dawanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dawanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dawanda 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 Dawanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dawanda 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 Dawanda 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 Americans are named Dawanda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.