Given name & surname
Dawn
“born at daybreak; of the day's first light”
Dawn is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “born at daybreak; of the day's first light.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “born at daybreak; of the day's first light.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1888. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Dawn through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 290,680
- 1,039 boys · 289,641 girls
- Most popular year
- 1970
- 15,724 babies
- 2025
- 85
- #2,174 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +3%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 85 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,174 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 1.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 15,681 in 1970. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (12). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 252,273 as a first name in 2020; 1,430 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.
Dawn’s family of names
Dawn has a related form in Dawna. Dawn has a related form in Dawne. Dawn has a related form in Dwan.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Dawn
- Dawn FraserAustralian swimmer and politicianborn 1937
- Dawn FrenchBritish actress, comedian and writer (born 1957)
- Dawn WellsAmerican actress (1938–2020)
- Dawn Harper-NelsonAmerican hurdlerborn 1984
- Dawn StaleyAmerican basketball player and coach (born 1970)
- Dawn OlivieriAmerican actressborn 1981
- Dawn AddamsBritish actress (1930–1985)
- Dawn UpshawAmerican sopranoborn 1960
- Dawn RichardAmerican singer (born 1983)
Characters named Dawn: Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Dawn, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Dana
“woran from Denmark” · “dane”
9% boys · 91% girls
Darcie
“a dark beauty”
>99% girls
Dionne
“of the sacred spring”
12% boys · 88% girls
Darlene
“ouf little darling”
>99% girls
Annmarie
“filled with bitter grace”
>99% girls
Marni
“woman of the sea”
>99% girls
Stacey
“one who shall rise again” · “having an abundance of grapes”
16% boys · 84% girls
Candy
“a queen” · “one who is white and glowing”
>99% girls