Home › Baby Names Directory › Dawson

Dawson

♂ Boy

Pronounced DAW-son /ˈdɔː.sən/High

Meaning: Son of Daw — Daw being a medieval short form of David, from Hebrew Dawid meaning 'beloved'High

In 30 seconds: An English surname meaning 'son of David,' linking it to the Hebrew for 'beloved.' Dawson gained first-name momentum from the TV series Dawson's Creek and belongs to the broad family of popular -son names.

💕 Browse more names

Origin HighEnglish

MeaningSon of Daw — Daw being a medieval short form of David, from Hebrew Dawid meaning 'beloved'

U.S. rank (2025)#143 ↘ Falling

2025 U.S. births2,487 boys (0.15% of U.S. boys)

Peak year1999

Total births (all-time)≈ 52,781

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Dawson is an English patronymic surname meaning 'son of Daw.' Daw was a medieval English nickname for David, from the Hebrew Dawid meaning 'beloved' or 'friend.' Patronymic surnames formed with the -son suffix were common in medieval England and Scotland.

As a given name, Dawson has been used since at least the late 20th century and gained significant visibility through the TV series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003). It sits comfortably within the fashionable bracket of -son surname names alongside Mason, Jackson, and Hudson.

Did you know? Dawson's Creek (1998–2003) was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, though set in fictional Capeside, Massachusetts — the show's protagonist Dawson Leery helped keep this surname-name on parents' radar.

Variations

Davidson

Nicknames

DawsSonny

Famous Bearers

★Dawson Knox (1996-)
American football tight end
★Dawson Garcia (2001-)
American college basketball player

If you like Dawson…

Mason— popular -son occupational surname name of the same generation

Hudson— geographical -son name equally fashionable in the 2010s

Tucker— punchy surname-as-first-name with the same rugged feel

Greyson— modern -son name with the same cool, surname-style appeal

Explore names like Dawson

By meaningLove

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Dawson mean?

Dawson is an English surname meaning 'son of Daw,' a medieval nickname for David, from Hebrew meaning 'beloved.'

How do you pronounce Dawson?

Dawson is pronounced DAW-son /ˈdɔː.sən/ — two syllables with stress on the first.

Is Dawson a boy or girl name?

Dawson is predominantly used as a boy's name.

How popular is Dawson?

Dawson has been in the U.S. top 200 boys' names since the 2000s, part of the popular -son name trend.