first name
DALE
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 188,893 people named Dale, 89.9% reported their origin as White, 4.7% as Black and 2.3% as two or more races. 91.6% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Dale peaked in 1958, when 9,087 babies got the name.
At least 300,043 babies have been given the name since 1881. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Dale by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #93. The largest share of babies named Dale, 48.3%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Dale is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Dale has been most common in South Dakota (3.7×), North Dakota (3.2×), and Nebraska (3×), and least common in Mississippi (0.37×).
292,004 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Dale
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Dale, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Dale ranks #1,219 of 156,621, with 28,382 people. See Dale as a last name
Compare
🔎 DALE 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 1,599 Americans More common than 51.3% of us Peaked in 1958 with 9,087 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/dale/