Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Da isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1983. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Da through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 302
- 186 boys · 116 girls
- Most popular year
- 1999
- 33 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2010. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 19 in 1999. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,372 as a first name in 2020; 1,080 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Da’s family of names
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Da
- Xu DaMing Dynasty founding general, father of Empress Xu of Yongle Emperor (1332-1385)
- Meng DaState of Cao Wei general (died 228)150–228
- Li DaChinese Marxist philosopher (1890–1960)
- Da ChenAmerican writer (1962–2019)
- Zhang Da
- Huang DaChinese economist (1925–2023)
- Wu Ta-YouChinese nuclear physicist (1907–2000)
- Chen DaChinese sociologist1892–1975
Characters named Da: Chen Da (Water Margin character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Da, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Deaven
76% boys · 24% girls
Wen
“one who is fairskinned” · “a beloved friend”
55% boys · 45% girls
Hardeep
74% boys · 26% girls
Emrah
“one who is brotherly”
83% boys · 17% girls
Ryhan
84% boys · 16% girls
Kaelan
“a mighty warrior”
85% boys · 15% girls
Bar
“foreign woman” · “a traveler from a foreign land; a stranger”
54% boys · 46% girls
Nijay
54% boys · 46% girls