# Daw (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/daw/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 2,670 |
| US rank (2010) | 11,736 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 115,635 people |
| Change since 2000 | +15% (2,327 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As an English surname, from a Middle English short form of David. Also a nickname from the (jack)daw. Compare Davey, Dakin. * Also as an English surname, from a rhyming pet form of Raw, a name related to Rauf; compare Ralph, Rawe, Rawson, Dawkins, Dawson. * As an Arabic surname, from ضوء (“light”). * As an Irish surname, from Ó Deaghaidh (literally “descendant of Deaghadh”), from deag (“good”) + ádh (“fate”), comparable to Goodwin.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Daw in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 75% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 6.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 6.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 7.0% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Daw in the United States.

## People named Daw

- Marjorie Daw, American film actress of the silent era (1902-1979)

## Similar surnames

Day, Dao, Dai, Dau, Dawe, Do, Dye, Dow, Dewey, Du, Doe, Dee.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.