Given name & surname
Dawson
“the son of David”
Dawson is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “the son of David.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “the son of David.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
In English usage, Dawson as a surname is an affectionate form of David.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1885. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Dawson through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 54,199
- 52,802 boys · 1,397 girls
- Most popular year
- 1999
- 2,834 babies
- 2025
- 2,568
- #143 for boys · #2,260 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +16%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,487 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 143 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 16.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,802 in 1999. It also appeared in 81 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (173). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 36,417 as a first name in 2020; 80,960 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.
Dawson’s family of names
In English usage, Dawson as a surname is an affectionate form of David. Dawson has a related form in Daw. Dawson has a related form in Dawsen.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Davidfull form · English
- Dawsynvariant
- Dawsenvariant
- Dawesvariant
- Dawsinvariant
- Dawevariant
- Dawvariant
- Dawsunvariant
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Dawson
- Dawson MercerCanadian ice hockey playerborn 2001
- Dawson TurnerEnglish banker, botanist and antiquary (1775-1858)
- Dawson WalkerScottish footballer (1916-1973)
- Dawson KnoxAmerican football player (born 1996)
- Dawson MathisAmerican politician (1940-2017)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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