Given name & surname · also Old Norse
Dag
“born during the daylight”·“day”
Dag is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “born during the daylight” (Scandinavian) and “day” (Norwegian). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “born during the daylight” (Scandinavian) and “day” (Norwegian). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
The name draws on Old Norse dagr, meaning “day”.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1961. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Dag through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 61
- 61 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1962
- 12 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 1971. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 12 in 1962. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 233 as a first name in 2020; 107 as a surname in 2000.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Dag’s family of names
Dag has a related form in Dagny. Dag has a related form in Daeg. Dag has a related form in Daggan.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Dag
- Dag HammarskjöldSwedish diplomat, economist, and author (1905–1961)
- Dag SolstadNorwegian writer (1941–2025)
- Dag Otto LauritzenNorwegian racing cyclistborn 1956
- Dag MalmbergSwedish actor and directorborn 1953
- Dag BjørndalenNorwegian biathleteborn 1970
- Dag Terje AndersenNorwegian politicianborn 1957
- Dag WirénSwedish composer (1905-1986)
- Dag Johan HaugerudNorwegian film director and screenwriter (born 1964)
- Dag FornæssNorwegian speed skater and footballplayerborn 1948
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Dag, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Denmark
“from the country of Denmark”
>99% boys
Bern
“resembling a bear”
>99% boys
Ingo
“a lord” · “from the meadow”
>99% boys
Rolf
“a famous wolf”
>99% boys
Geir
“one who wields a spear”
>99% boys
Ingemar
“the son of Ing”
>99% boys
Skipper
“the master of a ship”
99% boys · 1% girls
Gandalf
“elf familiar”
>99% boys