Dawan
Masculine
Dawan is given to both — 817 boys and 35 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Dawan is an American name with no documented parent and two ways of saying it. What it has instead of an etymology is a near neighbor worth knowing about, a Persian word that traveled further than most and ended up naming a piece of furniture.
How old is the name Dawan?
Dawan first appears in US birth records in 1956 — 69 years ago. The typical Dawan alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 800 people named Dawan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dawan most popular?
Dawan peaked in 1979, reaching #1633 nationally. See the whole 1979 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Dawan
The word that Dawan most resembles is divan, and divan has had an extraordinary career. In Persian it was a register, a written record, and then the office that kept the records, and then the council that met in the office. Because the council chamber was furnished with a long low cushioned bench running along the walls, the bench took the name too, which is how an English drawing room ended up with a divan in it. The same word also means a poet's collected works, gathered and registered in one book. And when the word passed through Turkish and Italian into French it produced douane, the customs house, which is still what the sign says at a French border. One word: a ledger, a government, a sofa, a book of poems and a customs post. Dawan does not descend from it. But it is the kind of company a name can keep.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source has been documented. The name is built from parts that a great many American names of its period share, and no record explains how this particular arrangement came about.
Pronouncing Dawan
duh-WAHN
Most often two syllables with the weight on the second. DAY-wan is also in use, and the spelling gives a reader no way to choose between them.
Nicknames for Dawan
Moderate
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
- 1956
- Most boys named
- 197935 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1633reached in 1979
- Change vs 2023
- +20.0%6 in 2024, 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.
Dawans among us
people named Dawan 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
Dawan 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
- Short, two syllables, and made entirely of sounds English already has.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it does not force a reading on anyone.
- It is rare without being strange, which is a combination worth something.
- Two pronunciations are in circulation and the spelling settles nothing, so the name will be said back to you both ways for life.
- The spelling is recorded for a few girls, but nearly every child with it is a boy.
- There is no documented meaning to offer, and the question comes up more often for short names than for long ones.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Dawan to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Dawan? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Dawan
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Dawans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Dawan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dawan in 2025?
- Dawan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Dawan with classmates?
- Dawan 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 Dawan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dawan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle