Dat
Masculine · “to achieve”
Dat is the Vietnamese Đạt, a boy's name meaning to achieve or attain. In Vietnamese it begins with a crossed d, a letter of its own, and in America the cross is lost.
How old is the name Dat?
Dat first appears in US birth records in 1979 — 46 years ago. The typical Dat alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 500 people named Dat are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dat most popular?
Dat peaked in 1981, reaching #2038 nationally. See the whole 1981 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Đạt to Dat
The story of Dat
The Vietnamese alphabet uses two letters where English has one d: plain d, which in the north sounds like z and in the south like y, and đ, crossed, which sounds like an English d. Đạt, achieve, begins with the crossed letter, and it is a favorite name for sons. Vietnamese families brought it to America, where records dropped the cross and the tone mark, leaving three plain letters.
Meaning
to achieve, to attain
From Vietnamese đạt, to reach, achieve or attain, a Sino-Vietnamese word. It is a common boy's name.
How the name formed
- Đạt
- Dat
Related forms: Đạt
Pronouncing Dat
DAHT
One syllable, with a short, low tone in Vietnamese.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1979
- Most boys named
- 198126 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2038reached in 1981
- Change vs 2017
- 0.0%5 in 2020, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dat in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Đạt in Vietnamese — same name
Dats among us
people named Dat are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Dat sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Its meaning, to achieve, is positive.
- It is short and simple to write.
- English speakers may say it like the slang dat, for that, and joke about it.
- Without its marks, part of the Vietnamese spelling is lost.
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Dat
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Dats are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Dat are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dat in 2025?
- Dat is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Dat with classmates?
- Dat will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
David#35 · Daniel#22 · Donald#690 · Dennis#707 · Douglas#807 · Dylan#41 · Danny#628 · Dale#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dat? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dat and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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