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Dash

#1,056 in 2025Boys' name

Ash tree, through æsċ

Dash has been given to 4,384 babies in the U.S. since 1984. In 2025 it ranked #1,056 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2017, with 322 recorded.

Babies named Dash, 2025

1 in 16,000

Dash over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Dash: meaning, origin, and history

Ash tree, through æsċ

surname transfer

What Dash means

Dash belongs to the name family reached through Dash → æsċ. Its meaning is “ash tree”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Old French de + Old English æsċ "(residing) near an ash tree".

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Dash (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Dash is used in English and Albanian. Its origins include surname transfer.

Dash comes through Old French de and Old English æsċ.

Dash is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include æsċ.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 4,297 boys were recorded with the name Dash between 1984 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 322 in 2017; its best national rank was #741 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #797 in 2020 to #1,056 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #769 in 2015 to #1,056 in 2025.

In the United States, 87 girls were recorded with the name Dash between 2011 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 14 in 2015; its best national rank was #8,110 in 2015.

How common is Dash?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 16,000
207 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 8,250
0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,056
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
11,102 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Dash sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5003%

Put another way: gather 11,102 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Dash. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Dashs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Dash was born before 2018 — so the typical Dash is around 7 today.

Median birth year
2018
About 7 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
54.3% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
99.1%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
4,297
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 54.3% of all recorded uses (2,335).

Is Dash rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−101
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−259
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−287
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.67×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
64.3%
Peak was 2017 (322)
Years since peak
8
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
16.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#741
2017

Spellings of Dash

Dash is not the most common spelling — Dale is, with 37.0% against Dash's 0.57%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Dash is used

Across 2016–2025, Dash was most concentrated in Louisiana — about 1 in 2,000 boys, against 1 in 6,188 across all states with data. It was least common in South Carolina (1 in 50,000).

250 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Louisiana1 in 2,000
  2. 2Maryland1 in 2,439
  3. 3Utah1 in 3,125
  4. 4District of Columbia1 in 3,448
  5. 5Georgia1 in 3,846
  6. 6Missouri1 in 3,846
  7. 7Iowa1 in 4,167
  8. 8Michigan1 in 4,762

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Dash is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 71% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Dash around the world

Where Dash ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2014–2025
    #4,275
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2010–2024
    #2,855
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2005–2013
    #754
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Dash

People whose public names include Dash, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Dash in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Dash. Linked forms have their own page here.

Dashiell

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Dash by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,056
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 259
Best rank ever
#741
2017
Peak year
2017
322 that year
First recorded
1984
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
4,297
Count in 2025
207

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#8,110
2015
Peak year
2015
14 that year
First recorded
2011
Last recorded
2024
All-time count
87
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Dash

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

YashDashonAshAkashDaseanKashDashaunDasanNashDashawnCashDashelDashiellArashDasaniWashVashDasonDastanAakashJoashJashDashielBash

Names with a curve like Dash

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Dash, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

HenrikAxlLochlanCastielAxtonJaxxFoxAlistairCaysonHarlemFinnleyJoziah

Sibling names for Dash

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Dash

Top names of 2017, Dash's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2017Boys' names starting with DAlbanian Boy NamesAlbanian NamesCool Boy Names