Dawnette
A feminine name denoting the first light of the morning.
Name Census estimates that about 562 living Americans carry the first name Dawnette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dawnette today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dawnette births was 1971 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dawnette. 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
562
~ 1 in 609,883 Americans
Peak year
1971
54 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1991 SSA rank
#13,686
Tracked since 1951
Census
Dawnette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 650 people with the first name Dawnette, which placed it at #17,115 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
#17,115
National first-name rank
People counted
650
650 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dawnette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawnette is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Dawnette 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 Dawnette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.8% · 428
- Black or African American24.6% · 160
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 33
- Two or more races2.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Dawnette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dawnette from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 264 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dawnette 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 Dawnette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dawnettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Michigan, Utah recorded the most babies named Dawnette, while Utah, Michigan, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dawnette
The given name Dawnette is a relatively modern English name derived from the word "dawn", which refers to the first appearance of light in the morning before sunrise. Its origins can be traced back to the late 19th or early 20th century, as it emerged as a feminine form of the name Dawn.
Dawnette is a name that celebrates the beauty and symbolism of the dawn, representing new beginnings, fresh starts, and the promise of a new day. It is a name that evokes a sense of hope, optimism, and renewal, making it a popular choice for parents who wish to instill these qualities in their child from birth.
While the name Dawnette does not have a long and storied history like many ancient names, it has been embraced by a number of notable individuals throughout the 20th century. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name was Dawnette Batts, an American singer and actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s. She was born in 1931 and was known for her performances on Broadway and in various television shows.
Another notable figure with the name Dawnette was Dawnette Knight, an American actress and model who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She was born in 1946 and is perhaps best known for her role in the cult classic film "The Fog" directed by John Carpenter.
In the field of sports, Dawnette Douglas made her mark as a professional basketball player. She was born in 1964 and played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for several seasons, representing teams such as the Los Angeles Sparks and the Detroit Shock.
In the literary world, Dawnette Brenner is an American author and journalist who has written several books on parenting and family life. She was born in 1957 and her works have been widely acclaimed for their insightful perspectives on modern family dynamics.
Finally, Dawnette Stephens is a notable figure in the world of education. Born in 1972, she is an accomplished educator and administrator who has served as the principal of several schools in the United States, dedicating her career to improving educational opportunities for underprivileged communities.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Dawnette throughout history, each making their mark in various fields and contributing to the richness of this unique and meaningful name.
People
Dawnette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dawnette 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
Dawnette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dawnette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 562 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dawnette 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 609,883 US residents.
Is Dawnette a common name?
We classify Dawnette as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 656 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dawnette most popular?
The single biggest year for Dawnette was 1971, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dawnette is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dawnette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 650 people with the name Dawnette, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,115 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 Dawnette 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 Dawnette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dawnette appears almost entirely female. Of the 639 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Dawnette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dawnette is White at 65.8%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Dawnette most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dawnette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (428 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 Dawnette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dawnette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dawnette 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 Dawnette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dawnette 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 Dawnette 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 common is the name Dawnette?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.