UK boy's name
Dain
An Old Norse name meaning "born on Good Friday".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2011. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Dain is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Dain popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2011 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4647, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1996, with 4 births.
This profile covers 21 England and Wales registrations across 6 recorded years from 1996 to 2011. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 75% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 21 living people in the UK are called Dain. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2012 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Dain ranked #4647 for boys in England and Wales in 2011, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1996, when 4 boys were registered as Dain.
- • About 21 living people in the UK are estimated to have Dain as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4647
2011
Births in 2011
3
Latest year
Peak year
1996
4 births
Estimated living
21
2026
Meaning
What does Dain mean?
The name Dain is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Norse people of Scandinavia during the Viking Age, approximately between the 8th and 11th centuries AD. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "dáinn," which means "dead" or "deceased."
In Norse mythology, Dain was the name of one of the four stags that grazed on the branches of the world tree, Yggdrasil. The name is also mentioned in the Poetic Edda, an ancient collection of Old Norse poems dating back to the 13th century, where it is used as a byname or epithet.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dain can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of narratives written in the 13th and 14th centuries, which recount the lives of famous Icelanders and Norse kings. In the Saga of Burnt Njal, a character named Dain is mentioned as a skilled archer.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dain. One of the earliest was Dain Ironfoot, a fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit," published in 1937. He was the king of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills and a distant cousin of Thorin Oakenshield.
In the Middle Ages, there was Dain Bramage (c. 1150-1212), an English philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively on the works of Aristotle and the doctrine of the Trinity. Another notable figure was Dain the Enchanter (c. 1280-1348), a French alchemist and occultist who was renowned for his skills in the magical arts.
In more recent times, Dain L. Tasker (1924-2014) was an American military aviator and test pilot who played a crucial role in the development of the X-15 rocket-powered aircraft. Dain Bluthenthal (1951-2020) was a South African author and environmentalist, known for his books on sustainable living and environmental conservation.
While the name Dain may have originated from a morbid meaning, it has evolved over time to become a unique and intriguing name with a rich historical background, spanning mythology, literature, philosophy, and even aviation.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Dain over time
The chart below shows babies named Dain registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2011. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Dain, the clearest high point is 1996. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2011, compared with 4 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dain by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Dain was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | #4647 | 3 | 1 |
| 2000s | #3644 | 14 | 4 |
| 1990s | #2357 | 4 | 1 |
Related
Names similar to Dain
- Daniel 120,900
- Dylan 60,836
- David 37,852
- Dominic 20,480
- Declan 11,657
- Dexter 11,627
- Danny 8,434
- Dean 5,329
- Dillon 4,113
- Douglas 3,773
- Dominik 3,494
- Damian 3,486
FAQ
Dain: questions and answers
How popular is the name Dain in the UK right now?
In 2011, Dain was ranked #4647 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Dain most popular?
The peak year on record was 1996, with 4 babies registered as Dain in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Dain?
An Old Norse name meaning "born on Good Friday".
How many people are called Dain in the UK?
A total of 21 babies have been registered as Dain across the 6 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.