Dale

Where Dale comes from

The dictionaries list Dale as a given name — a unisex given name transferred from the surname — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • From a surname
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1881
    First appearance
    #781 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1888
    Dale Carnegie born
    American writer and lecturer
  3. 1939
    Dale T. Mortensen born
    American economist
  4. 1958
    Peak, #46
    8,502 babies named Dale — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1966
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #85.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name transferred from the surname.
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
  • A female given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Dale Carnegie · American writer and lecturer, 1888–1955
  • Dale T. Mortensen · American economist, 1939–2014

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.