Dayshawn
Variant of the male name Dashawn, derived from the Hebrew name Deshaun meaning "favored one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,328 living Americans carry the first name Dayshawn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dayshawn today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dayshawn births was 2005 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dayshawn. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 258,098 Americans
Peak year
2005
71 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,860
Tracked since 1980
Census
Dayshawn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 979 people with the first name Dayshawn, which placed it at #12,637 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
#12,637
National first-name rank
People counted
979
979 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dayshawn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dayshawn is Black at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Dayshawn 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 Dayshawn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.2% · 795
- Two or more races8.8% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 12
- White1.1% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Dayshawn
Out of the 1,350 babies given the name Dayshawn since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Dayshawn as a male name
- Ranked #7,860 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (71 births)
Dayshawn as a female name
- Ranked #13,977 in 1995
- 5 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1995 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dayshawn leans strongly male. 941 people counted with this name were male (96.1%), compared with 38 female bearers (3.9%).
Popularity
Dayshawn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dayshawn from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 582 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dayshawn 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 Dayshawn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dayshawns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. New York, Michigan, Ohio recorded the most babies named Dayshawn, while North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dayshawn
The given name Dayshawn is of African American origin and is a relatively modern creation, likely emerging in the late 20th century. It appears to be a combination of the English word "day" and the common African American name "Shawn," which itself is derived from the Irish name Seán or the Hebrew name Shene.
While the name Dayshawn does not have a direct historical lineage or ancient roots, it reflects the cultural tradition of creating unique names within the African American community. These names often blend elements from different linguistic sources, reflecting the diverse cultural influences and experiences of African Americans.
There are no recorded instances of the name Dayshawn appearing in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records prior to the 20th century. However, this does not diminish the significance and meaning that the name holds for those who bear it or the communities that have embraced it.
Due to its relatively recent origin, there are limited examples of notable historical figures with the first name Dayshawn. However, here are a few individuals who have carried this name:
1. Dayshawn Battle (born in 1997), an American basketball player who currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.
2. Dayshawn Anderson (born in 1993), an American professional basketball player who played for the University of Miami and had a brief stint in the NBA G League.
3. Dayshawn Watkins (born in 1995), an American football defensive back who played college football at Ohio State University.
4. Dayshawn Hendricks (born in 1998), an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBA G League.
5. Dayshawn Callaway (born in 1999), an American football cornerback who played college football at the University of Southern California.
While the name Dayshawn may not have a long historical lineage, it holds personal and cultural significance for those who bear it, reflecting the rich tapestry of African American identity and the ongoing evolution of naming traditions within this community.
People
Dayshawn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dayshawn 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
Dayshawn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dayshawn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,328 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dayshawn 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 258,098 US residents.
Is Dayshawn a common name?
We classify Dayshawn as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,350 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dayshawn most popular?
The single biggest year for Dayshawn was 2005, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dayshawn is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dayshawn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 979 people with the name Dayshawn, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,637 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 Dayshawn 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 Dayshawn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dayshawn leans strongly male. 941 people counted with this name were male (96.1%), compared with 38 female bearers (3.9%). 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 Dayshawn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dayshawn is Black at 81.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.8%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Dayshawn most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dayshawn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.2% (795 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 Dayshawn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dayshawn a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Dayshawn in the SSA data are male. 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 Dayshawn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dayshawn 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 Dayshawn 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 have Dayshawn as a first name?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Dayshawn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.