Dawson

Where Dawson comes from

Dawson hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1775
    Dawson Turner born
    English banker, botanist and antiquary
  2. 1885
    First appearance
    #936 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1999
    Peak, #136
    2,802 babies named Dawson — more than any year before or since.
  4. 2001
    Dawson Mercer born
    Canadian ice hockey player
  5. 2008
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #269.
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Dawson Mercer · Canadian ice hockey player, born 2001
  • Dawson Turner · English banker, botanist and antiquary, 1775–1858
  • Dawson Walker · Scottish footballer, 1916–1973
  • Dawson Knox · American football player, born 1996
  • Dawson Mathis · American politician, 1940–2017

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.