Dawson
Top 1000
About Dawson
Dawson was scarcely heard as a first name before the debut of Dawson's Creek in 1998, at which point it leaped up more than 550 places in one year. The character Dawson Leery, played by James Van Der Beek, was a teen favorite until the show's demise in 2003.
An offshoot of the David nickname Daw, Dawson could make a nice tribute to a namesake David. Also a common surname, there have been noted Dawsons from footballer Len to actress Rosario to the Leonardo Di Caprio character in Titanic, Jack Dawson.
In literature, Dawson Fairchild is a novelist character in William Faulkner's second novel, Mosquitoes.
A recent study of names by political party affiliation found that nearly 80 percent of the voters named Dawson are Republicans.
Pronounced DAW-sen.
As of October 2026, Dawson ranked #143 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #136 in 1999, Nameberry popularity #263.
Editor's take: The name Dawson is a boy's name of Welsh origin meaning "son of David".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #320 | 1,083 | 563.8 |
| 2015 | #238 | 1,594 | 831.6 |
| 2016 | #216 | 1,794 | 945.3 |
| 2017 | #196 | 2,017 | 1,089.7 |
| 2018 | #194 | 2,099 | 1,155.7 |
| 2019 | #202 | 1,960 | 1,092.4 |
| 2020 | #197 | 1,918 | 1,111.2 |
| 2021 | #207 | 1,829 | 1,045.5 |
| 2022 | #184 | 2,045 | 1,171.2 |
| 2023 | #149 | 2,449 | 1,431.7 |
| 2024 | #139 | 2,576 | 1,495.2 |
| 2025 | #143 | 2,487 | 1,456 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Dawson.
- Jameson
- Reese
- Brody
- Reece
- Weston
- Beckham
- Jensen
- Brady
- Anderson
- Colby
- Camden
- Keegan
- Benson
- Walker
- Tucker
- Preston
- Tatum
- Dalton
- Lawson
- Brodie
Dawson on lists
Famous Dawsons
- (Marvin) Dawson Mathis
U.S. Congressman from Georgia
- Dawson Simpson
Australian rules footballer
- Dawson Dakota Dunbar
Canadian actor
- Dawson Dawson
Watson, British,born painter
- Dawson Fernandes
Indian footballer
- Dawson Millward
British actor
- Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler
American voice actor
- Dawson Swindell
son of baseball player Greg Swindell
- Dawson Paul Aucoin
son of baseball player Derek Aucoin
- Richard Dawson
English,American actor, comedian, and TV game show host
- Shane Dawson
American Youtube Personality
- Dawson Mercer
Canadian ice hockey player
Dawson in pop culture
- Dawson Leery
main character on TV's "Dawson's Creek"
- Dawson T. Hunziger
character in "Arrowsmith" (1925) by Sinclair Lewis
- Dawson Black
character in "Obsidian" by Jennifer L Armentrout
- Dawson Cole
main character in Nicholas Sparks's "The Best of Me"
- Dawson Fairchild
character in William Faulkner's "Mosquitoes"
- Frank Dawson
main character on TV's "This Man Dawson"
- Edward "Eddie" Dawson
main character in Piers Paul Read's "Monk Dawson''
- Jack Dawson
character in film "Titanic"
- Damon Dawson
character on TV's "Heroes"
- Ally Dawson
character on TV's "Austin & Ally"
- Isabella "Bella" Dawson
character in Disney's 'Bella and the Bulldogs'
- Antonio Dawson
character on TV's "Chicago P.D." and "Chicago Justice"
- Gabriela "Gabby" Dawson
character on TV's "Chicago Fire"